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2021-10-08
Covid-19 win assignment
My name is Gage Phelps, and I am a 7th grader at lone star middle school. I like to play baseball, sketch/ draw my family loves to take our 4 by 4 talon with my trailer then go camping. I was born on December 8, 2008 in Boise ID. I now live in Nampa ID and I`m on the Nampa Babe Ruth baseball team. My mother works at Micron and my dad is a truck driver for Central Oregon Trucking Company. I like to listen to NF, Twenty one pilots, and rock with my Dad. This school year is much different from last years school start. One of the largest differences this year is that we are not online. When we where online it was hard because you had meeting that most teachers made you turn on cameras (most kids didn`t). This year we are actually in school where you can make more friends and socialize. When we where in school at the beginning of last year we had to where mask and we had to have A day and B day. The only similar thing I can think about is the 1 or 2 halls. We have lockers now and we can’t carry around our back packs anymore like we had to last year. We also have several different classes called periods. -
2021-10-08
covid in 2021
I’m Brayden O’Connor I go to lone star middle school, I’m from Pocatello Idaho, I was born in 2009. What I like about school is probably getting to see all my friends and meeting a bunch of new teachers each year. My hobbies are baseball, hockey, hunting, camping, being outside, and playing with my dogs. I would describe the start of this school year as, very stressful, difficult, and boring. It’s not similar at all. And what’s different, is probably almost everything we don’t have to wear masks anymore and we don’t have to wipe our desks down after the period, we go back full time now no more a day b day, no more hybrid, no more Wednesdays off. A lot has changed but it is still manageable, like we must use hand sanitizer and we must be careful of everything we do. Its very different than what it used to be when it was the 4th quarter of 5th grade. During then we had to go full online because there was the covid outbreak. Then in 6th grade we were pretty much all online for most of the year but then at the very end we went back to school with masks mandatory. But then this year, (7th grade), we are back to school full time with masks optional. -
2021-10-08
Lone Star Covid Archive
My name is Cardin Madera I go to Lone Star Middle School, and I enjoy school. I would describe the start of this school year weird because it has been a long time when I last went to a full year of school and I am not into the routine yet, so it makes it weird. Last year is similar because we still must sanitize our hands to keep us safe. Also, the staff are still not messing around about Covid-19. If you were to tell a joke about Covid, “saying this kid has Covid” and it is a lie you would get in trouble. It is different than last year because we do not have to sanitize our hands as much. Then we get to have our masks off the entire day if you want and it is not like we have half of the school students at school and the other half at home. There are somethings that changed between 4th and 7th grade because during 5th grade we were almost done with the school year but then covid hit and we had to do online for the rest of the school year. Then in 6th grade at the beginning of the school year we were doing online for a long time, and it was not helping a lot because I really could not ask questions about the assignment we are doing and about the lesson. -
2021-10-08
Lone Star Covid Archive
This text is important to me because it tells me how hard life was during the pandemic. Everything was just restricted and I was not able to do the things I wanted to do. I signed up for flag and it was my first ever time playing football but when Covid hit or submission got canceled. Looking back at this moment in time helps me think that life is better than it has seemed before. -
2021-10-08
Then and Now
My name is Karleigh Wissel. I am 12 years old, and I attend Lone Star middle school (Nampa, ID). I would say that my last normal school year was 4th grade. I was nine years old and went to a private school. When I was in fifth grade, about halfway through the year, everything changed. The whole school quickly transitioned too online. The following year I was going to be in sixth grade, and we were going to continue with the same private school, but it just was not safe. So, my parents decided to homeschool me and my little brother. Wearing a mask is not mandatory but I wear it anyway. I must wear a mask all the time and the only time I get take it off is when I am outside and when I eat lunch. Also, I must be very aware of my surroundings and if someone coughs, I try my best to stay away from them. I would say that starting 7th grade this year has been a little hard. Since I was homeschooled, I did not get that middle school experience. I felt like everyone knew how to open their lockers and transition from class to class. It took me about a week to get the hang of it. -
2020-04-01
Zoom Meeting Fashion
What's been your pandemic work attire? It's gotten much comfier these days when you're only having to be seen from the chest up. -
2020-05
The Year That Never Felt Real
When COVID-19 first started spreading in the United States I remember the hysteria that spread so quickly. Not very long ago the aisles in every grocery store in America were empty of non-perishable goods, water bottles, and toilet paper. In the first Fam Bam group chat messages we were making fun of the people buying up all the water bottles, and toilet paper but when we couldn't find toilet paper literally anywhere a little bit of fear struck our household. Just as everyone else did, we began to realize the reality of the new world we were living in and the differences it would make in our lives. In the initial isolation stages I am not going to lie, there was some enjoyment. No work, mandatory social expectations, I was isolated playing my video games, reading my books, ignorant to what was going on in the rest of the world around me almost. It is unhealthy to spend days on end in your room without much social interaction outside of family, sunlight, exercise, just normal day to day life. The walls of my room felt as though they started to shrink day by day, finally when I was called back to work everything was just... different. We were wearing masks, which in my opinion was not really a big deal at all at this point I had begun to understand the reality of COVID. What I experienced from here on was not enjoyable to say the least, when we began doing things in public again everybody felt sort of tense all the time, the energy in places felt dystopic. As a Starbucks Barista we had to mandate masks to every person that came into our store, as a 24 year old working as the manager on the floor I had to deal with some brutal harassment during this time. Every time a customer came in maskless it was my job to ask them "is it okay if I get a mask for you?" if they said no, I had to ask them to take their order outside or refuse them service. Whether I agreed with the policy or not was irrelevant, I had a job to do if I wished to maintain an income so I did my job. Sometimes I would get cursed at, called communist, and just dealt with genuine harassment on a regular basis. When the governor relieved the state of their state wide mask mandate but Starbucks maintained there's it was even worse for us we were the scape goats for a mask mandate and political arguments between two sides we had no part of, the community treated us like political punching bags. To be quite honest, the transition back into society was emotionally exhausting for everyone, but I will never forget how people treated me as an employee just doing there job. At the end of it, I didn't even realize the year had past it just didn't even feel like it really happened. -
2021-10-06
COVID-19: The Impact of Power, Gender, Race, and Religion
Life during the COVID-19 pandemic is something that no one could have expected or prepared for. The way that our everyday lives instantly got disrupted and for many people their lives turned completely upside-down. We went from going to concerts, shows, and movies with friends and family, to lockdown in a brief second. Yet, for everyone lockdown, quarantine, and even work all looked different. There were many factors that went into trying to be able to stay safe and healthy during this time. Not everyone had the same advantages to try and protected themselves and their loved ones; some of the driving forces behind the advantages or disadvantage were power, gender, race, and religion. The more power, money, influence that you had during 2020 was what could almost guarantee that you and your family would be okay. By having money and power one was able to by as many masks as they wanted or by as much disinfectant as they could. Those people didn’t need to worry about if they could afford the inflated prices of hand sanitizers and Clorox wipes (if they could be found). Having power and money meant having information and accesses. This meant that those who possessed these things, could have accesses to doctors for healthcare purposes but also to get information about what was happening in their local area. With the possession of money also came space. Besides disinfectants and good masks such as N95s or KN95s, space was the next most luxurious thing people could have. Having space meant that you and your families weren’t all crowded on top of each other even if that’s how many people felt like they were because of lockdown. Having space also meant that if one of your loved ones got COVID-19, there was an area for them to quarantine and not but the rest of the people in the house at risk. Power and money were what separated those who could afford to stay at home and be safe and have minimal disruption to their lives, and those who still had to leave the house every day, if they were some of the fortunate ones to have jobs and put their lives at risk to try and provide for their loved ones. The way that gender was impacted by COVID-19, was that for lots of family’s stereotypical gender roles were reversed in some cases or even ceased for a bit. With everyone spending so much time at home, there was no more reason for any one person to be doing either the housework, looking after the children, or even doing all the cooking. While it is not just women that stay home with children, plenty of men to do, it is a stereotype that most women stay home with the kids and that the men work. Well with many people working from home or unfortunately being unemployed the jobs that typically might have fallen on mom became a mom and dad job. However, gender was not only impacted in these ways. While COVID-19 was already a hard, tough, and sad enough event domestic violence rose drastically during lockdown. Because people were forced to stay home, women especially since they are the dominant gender affected by domestic violence, had no option but to remain in the same environment as their abusers. This is not to say that men did not face the same situations but in America, 77% of domestic violence victims are female. Race played a huge part in the treatment of those with COVID-19 as well as accessibility to masks, disinfectants, and other forms of PPE. Areas all around the country that were not primarily made up of white people, were hit the harder with COVID-19. These groups of people were not given or provided the same level of care or protections that those where were white did, during this crisis. People who were any race other than white were treated as second class citizens to those who were white. They tended to be forgotten about by the healthcare system or were not prioritized the same way those who were white were. The color of your skin during 2020 could have been the difference between living or dying due to COVID-19. Religion was one of the biggest debates that surrounded the entire COIVD-19 pandemic. Religion was the cause for fights, violence, and even deaths of thousands of people. People used their belief in religion as a reason for why they did or did not believe in many parts of COIVD-19 crisis. One of the oldest debates in history is religion versus science, and this debate in modern times has never been so present in every part of the country and many parts of the world. Not only were people’s personal beliefs in religion playing a role in the chaos of the pandemic, but the attendance of religious gatherings such as church and temple causing issues as well. As a result of millions of people choosing to still attend religious gatherings, they were spreading the virus because of being in such close contact with many people. Even when there were executive orders in place prohibiting gatherings of over a certain size to prevent the spread of COVID-19, people still felt it was their right to go to these gatherings. The COIVD-19 pandemic impacted and altered the lives of billions of people. There are lots of factors that played a part of making the pandemic better and making the pandemic worse. However, at the end of the day the ones that were the most prominent were power, gender, race, and religion. -
2021-10-05
Child's Letter to Doug Ducey
Twitter user @amybchan tweeted a photo of a letter that a 7-year-old student wrote to Governor Doug Ducey. She tells him that she and her sister both got COVID and asks him to make masks at school mandatory. Governor Ducey has not only refused to mandate masks at K-12 schools in Arizona but he has punished public school districts in the state that have chosen to require masks by withholding federal funding meant for COVID mitigation strategies. Parents, students, and educators have been outspoken about this policy and the federal government has weighed in over the mishandling of these COVID relief funds. My children are in a district that requires masks and have put in a grant application for those specific funds but have been told that it is "pending review" and has not released the money to the district. It is hurting districts who are actually trying to keep students and families safe and rewarding schools for not following proven mitigation strategies. At a time when children under 12 cannot get the vaccine this is especially troubling to many Arizona families. -
2021-09-21
COVID cases 2021-2022 School Year
This article shows the amount of COVID cases at the beginning of the 2021-2022 school year compared to the number of cases from the 2020-2021 school year in Texas. Texas Governor Greg Abbott ended the mask mandate in March 2021, although many school continued their use until the end of the 2020-2021 school year. A May 2021 executive order issued by Abbott banned local governments from requiring mask wearing. Thus, many Texas schools did not require masks to be worn on campuses. The article provides data that there are more COVID 19 cases in the first two months of the 2021-2022 school year than there were the entire previous school year. -
2021-08-20
School District Facebook Post
This is a Facebook post from Cypress-Fairbanks ISD prior to the start of the 2021-2022 academic year. Cypress Fairbanks ISD (CFISD) is the 3rd largest public school district in the state of Texas and faced a lot of scrutiny for not enforcing a mask mandate. Their reasoning was due in part to Governor Greg Abbott ending the mask mandate in the state of Texas. CFISD released many of these "Fact Checking" posts to assure parents and the community that COVID safety was still a top priority. -
2020-10-01
Life During the Pandemic
This photograph is about the time that my sister and I went to a pumpkin patch with a friend of ours. It was a different experience because we had to wear masks and keep our distance from the rest of the people, we had gone to a pumpkin patch the year before and it was completely different because we didn’t have to maintain our distance of wear masks and we were free to roam around wherever we liked. The reason why this was important to me is because I remember since it was our first time doing an activity like this during the COVID where there was a little bit more risk we were a little scared but at the same time we thought we can’t just stay inside forever and stop living. -
2021-10-06
Moving from Turkey to the United States During a Pandemic
This story describes moving a family from Antalya, Turkey to the United States during the pandemic of 2020/2021. It attempts to enlighten the reader to the types of issues people are dealing with and how it can change a person and reveal who people are. -
2021-10-04
Restaurant Employees' Experience during COVID-19
Restaurant Employees’ Experience during COVID-19 The norms of life pre-COVID are not the norms we are experiencing now. We all get accustomed to our ways of living, and then our lives have changed in a blink of an eye. I am a server in a restaurant and walk out each shift with cash in my hands. March 19, 2020, my life changed. I was a college student that lived day today when it came to my income, and for six weeks, I did not have an income to help with the bare necessities of living. However, I was very fortunate that my parents were the lucky ones that still had jobs, and they were able to help me until the restaurants opened back up. I have learned the importance of saving money. The experience of working in a restaurant during COVID-19 was unlike any experience I had in the past. Everyone was required to wear a mask, and the interaction with the guests was unnatural. The guests not being able to see our expressions and not hearing us clearly, I felt we lost the customer service our guests expected. It was challenging to breathe with the masks as the restaurant industry is fast-paced, and at times we would get overheated, nauseous, and did not feel well. I was always ready to go home so I could take off my mask. To-go sales now are a much more significant part of the restaurant business. The challenge with the increase in to-go orders is the design of the kitchens. They are designed to handle the projected sales based on experience, and when to-go sales became unlimited, the time to prepare meals doubled in time, and guests were unhappy. Many did not understand that the kitchen can only produce some much product per hour. It eventually got to the point that the restaurant would have to turn off their phones because the kitchen was at the maximum number of orders that they could produce. Trying to keep the guests happy was a challenge. If we took unlimited to-go orders, then the cook times were doubled. However, if we limited the number of to-go orders, the guests would also be unhappy. It will be interesting to see if the restaurant industry gets back to the norms of pre-COVID. -
2021-09-17
Sobering Statistics
Once again, Covid-19 tops the list for Law Enforcement In Line of Duty Deaths, just as it did last year. Now, more than ever, Law Enforcement needs our support and assistance! -
2021-09-28
The trashiest place on earth
Mask trash at Disneyland California -
2021-09-20
Covid-19 Archive Project
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2021-09-17
"The Big E readies for just-announced mask mandate"
This MassLive article reports on the Big E's reaction to the newly instated mask mandate in Massachusetts. The Big E, or the Eastern States Exposition, is a New England fair held in West Springfield, Massachusetts, annually. It was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic. -
2021-09-16
"Masks at the Big E: Mask mandate will take effect in West Springfield as Big E begins 17-day run"
This MassLive article reports on the Board of Health's decision to enact an indoor mask mandate, which will affect the Eastern States Exposition, or Big E, held annually in West Springfield, MA. The New England fair was cancelled in 2020 and is trying to make a comeback in 2021 despite the pandemic. -
2021-09-20
"Despite COVID and mask mandate, The Big E had its largest Sunday attendance for an opening weekend in a decade"
This article reports on the crowds on the third day of the Eastern States Exposition. Commonly referred to as the Big E, the Eastern States Exposition is a New England fair held at the end of September in West Springfield, Massachusetts. It was cancelled in 2020 due to the pandemic, and town residents have concerns about the Big E in 2021. -
2021-09-03
Mask trash at Forest Ave
Mask trash near the pick up-drop off at Forest Ave on ASU's campus. -
2021-09-18
Mask trash outside Tops Liquors
A white, disposable mask on the ground outside Tops Liquor. -
2021-09-16T13:00:00
Tiffany Lam and Daniel Berry Oral History, 2021/09/16
This is a quick interview between two freshmen in college, recapping our overall thoughts throughout the pandemic. -
2021-09-13
Mask Trash at Kiwanis Recreation Center
I took my daughter to play tennis at 5:00 PM. When we left at 6:00, this disposable mask had made its way to the ground, right by the entrance to the tennis courts. This photograph is part of the mask trash series. -
2021-09-07
Mask trash
Mask trash has become so common over a year into the pandemic. This one was found on a bench in SanTan Village mall in Gilbert, Arizona. -
2020-11-01
Homemade Mask Meme
I took this photo of my brother when I went to visit him while he was living in Concord, Massachusetts, and I was studying remotely at home in West Springfield, Massachusetts. We had just come back from visiting Walden Pond for the first time. My brother was living with his best friend's grandfather at the time, and even though my brother did not leave the house much, he still wore a mask inside the house as a precaution. After he finished eating, my brother went to put his mask on again, except he aimed a little high. Thinking it looked funny, I took a picture and made it into a meme. I felt like having the mask cover his entire face was similar to a face-palm or banging one's head against the wall, somehow symbolic of the grind that pandemic life had become. -
2020-09-24
The Mask
I wrote this poem during my senior year shortly after Providence College began its campus lockdown in September of 2020 in response to a major spike in COVID-19 cases. Unable to leave my apartment on campus for days at a time except to go for a walk by myself around campus, I felt the weight of the emotional impacts of the pandemic. I wrote the poem from a place of hurt and concern that my fellow students could not abide by guidelines to keep the campus community and the surrounding community safe. Masks were simultaneously hiding our fears while also being a constant reminder of them. I published this poem in the Portfolio section of The Cowl, Providence College's student-run newspaper. It appeared in the October 1, 2020 issue. -
2021-08-21
Mask trash outside the CDL
Wednesday, August 18 was the eve of the first day of classes at Arizona State University. It was also the first week that the Child Development Lab (CDL) was open for daycare on campus. I picked my son up around 5:00 PM and took this picture of mask trash, likely unintentionally dropped by one of the parents outside the center. This image is part of the mask trash series. -
2021-08-04
SUNY Brockport reinstates mask mandate
Today, my college, SUNY Brockport reinstated the mask mandate, now requiring all individuals on campus to wear masks again. I am sure many have mixed feelings about this. I want to protect myself and my community by I am soooo over wearing masks. -
2021-07-20
Troop 621 in the Mess Hall
This is a photo of some Scouts from Troop 621, in San Ramon, eating dinner at the Camp Wolfeboro mess hall. The Scouts have masks around their necks. The photo was found on the troop's public website. The photo is identifiable as being taken on July 20, 2021 between 6:15 and 7:00, because Troop 621 attended camp during the fifth session (July 18 to July 24) and ate B shift dinner from 6:15 to 7:00, and part of Tuesday night's dinner was stuffing and mashed yams, which are visible on the Scouts' plates. -
2021-07-19T11:41
Trading Post Maximum Occupancy Sign
This photograph shows a sign at the Camp Wolfeboro Trading Post that says "Trading Post Maximum Occupancy: 5", with the Camp Wolfeboro logo before it. The sign also accompanies a nut allergy sign that is present every year. The Trading Post only allowed five people to enter at a time, and any overflow had to wait outside for someone to leave the building. Masks were also required in the Trading Post, regardless of vaccination status. The photograph was taken on July 19, 2021 at 11:41 AM. -
2021-07-16
Arizona governor says schools can't force unvaccinated students to quarantine if they're exposed to Covid-19
This CNN article discusses a recent letter sent out by Gov. Doug Ducey's education adviser, that said requiring unvaccinated students to quarantine after a COVID exposure is against state law because Arizona does not require students to be vaccinated or wear face masks. I am from NYS and this is drastically different than what Gov. Andrew Cuomo is requiring and/or recommending for students in public schools and state universities. It is bizarre how different states and governors are handling the COVID and vaccination situation. -
2021-07-22
Hajj pilgrimage 2021
This CNN article/photos show how the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca is impacted by COVID for the second year in a row. The article states that, typically, 2 million Muslims worldwide go to Mecca for the Hajj, but this year, it is expected that only 60,000 residents will attend. Worshippers must be fully vaccinated and nonresidents are not allowed to attend. -
2020-09-19
PHOTOS: How The World Is Reinventing Rituals
This article captures images of the continuations of and changes in rituals around the globe during the pandemic. -
2021-07-15
Dr. Marissa Rhodes, Oral History, July 15, 2021
Curator for the JOPTY program, Angelica S Ramos interviews mother of three, Dr. Marissa Rhodes. In this interview she discusses her role as a professor and how COVID-19 halted all the plans she had for her classes. She also discusses her pregnancy with her third baby and the struggles that came with prenatal care and birth during the COVID-19 pandemic. Dr. Rhodes also relates her birthing experience and how different the pandemic made it from her first two pregnancies; she discusses the complications that she faced and the stresses she dealt with. Dr. Rhodes also discusses how her social life was impacted and the struggle to find a balance between work, children, virtual-learning and a new baby. Lastly, she reflects on her personal silver lining and the lessons that she hopes will be learned from this experience. -
2020
Humorous Memes About Quarantine and Covid
During quarantine I collected many humorous memes about staying at home and the problems that brought. All sorts of subjects were covered: cooking, getting along with your spouse/roommates, homeschooling the kids, learning to bake bread, being stuck at home, sanitizing, facemasks, people hoarding toilet paper, boredom, effects of isolation, etc. Here are a few of those memes. -
2020
Humorous Memes about Quarantine and COVID
During quarantine I collected many humorous memes about staying at home and the problems that brought. All sorts of subjects were covered: cooking, getting along with your spouse/roommates, homeschooling the kids, learning to bake bread, being stuck at home, sanitizing, facemasks, people hoarding toilet paper, boredom, effects of isolation, etc. Here are a few of those memes. -
2020
Humorous Memes About Quarantine
During quarantine I collected many humorous memes about staying at home and the problems that brought. All sorts of subjects were covered: cooking, getting along with your spouse/roommates, homeschooling the kids, learning to bake bread, being stuck at home, sanitizing, facemasks, people hoarding toilet paper, boredome, effects of isolation, etc. Here are a few of those memes. -
2020
Memes About Quarantine and Life With Covid
During quarantine I collected many humorous memes about staying at home and the problems that brought. All sorts of subjects were covered: cooking, getting along with your spouse/roommates, homeschooling the kids, learning to bake bread, being stuck at home, sanitizing, people hoarding toilet paper, boredome, effects of isolation, etc. Here are a few of those memes. -
2021-07-13
New daily COVID-19 cases in US have doubled in past 3 weeks
The COVID-19 curve in the U.S. is rising again after months of decline, with the number of new cases per day doubling over the past three weeks, driven by the fast-spreading delta variant, lagging vaccination rates and Fourth of July gatherings. Confirmed infections climbed to an average of about 23,600 a day on Monday, up from 11,300 on June 23, according to Johns Hopkins University data. And all but two states — Maine and South Dakota — reported that case numbers have gone up over the past two weeks. -
2021-07-09
Charlotte Tibollo Oral History, 2021/07/09
Mother interviewing 5 year old daughter about the pandemic. -
2020-08-03
U.S. History Classroom 2020
When I came home from my last deployment in December 2019, I began to look for teaching jobs- I was for the first time preparing for the teaching job market. Suddenly, when Covid-19 hit the streets, most business and shops closed their doors and were only open for carry-out. In May 2020, I was worried because most school corporations announced that they would presume classes virtually or through a mix of hybrid days that would consists of both synchronous and asynchronous learning for the first portion of the school year. I thought that this would be a learning curve for me if I ended up getting a position. By August 2020, I got a position as an 11th-grade high school teacher in my hometown. Before the bell rang on 03 August 2020, I put the rubber gloves on that the school’s office gave me and sprayed each desk down with bleach. The tight latex gloves did not fit my hand properly but worked for its purpose. The disinfectant left an aroma in the air, similar to a hospital. Brinnnnng, the bell sounded, and the students began marching into the building as I watched them from my window. My forehead began to bead up with sweet (I was nervous for my first day). Then, I put on my mask and stood outside my door. As I waited at the door, I remembered the old days when I was a student at that same school, I was now a teacher. Back then, the hallways were filled with my peers, there were lots of hugging and other high schoolers interaction going on. Everywhere I turned, my peers were smiling and excited to share summer stories. In a blink of eyes, when I looked at the hallways, my peers were no longer there. Neither was the high schooler me. Now, I look through the hallways and it is filled with faceless students. The unnatural phenomena brought forth by Covid-19. The wearing of a mask in the U.S. society is unnatural. The students tried to stay six feet away and tried not make physical contact with anyone. The masks covered their faces, and many wore gloves to open their lockers. As I greeted my students entering my class first period, they seemed happy to be in school in-person since all surrounding corporations had announced they would have online instruction. As they seated, they soon realized that each desk was coated in residues from the cleaning products. I then went to the front of my class and tried to write my name on the board. The marker streaked the board. The cleaning products from wiping each room down from the cleaning staff had left a clear coating that made it impossible to write on. This was a common theme for each class that entered my room. By the end of the day, the room was filled with body and cleaning supplies odors. The coating on the board ruined my marker. My hands shriveled from the gloves, and my ears were red and irritated from the mask. I thought to myself, “this is the new norm now. I must get used to it, so students do not feel overwhelmed.” I chose this story because I felt that this was a challenging year for all first-year teachers. I wanted to bring insight on how difficult it was to try and keep calm and push students to strive to their potential without making students have the extra worry of Covid. This story shows how Covid affected not only adults but everyone in our society. -
2020-08-04
U.S. History Classroom
When I came home from my last deployment in December 2019, I began to look for teaching jobs- I was for the first time preparing for the teaching job market. Suddenly, when Covid-19 hit the streets, most business and shops closed their doors and were only open for carry-out. In May 2020, I was worried because most school corporations announced that they would presume classes virtually or through a mix of hybrid days that would consists of both synchronous and asynchronous learning for the first portion of the school year. I thought that this would be a learning curve for me if I ended up getting a position. By August 2020, I got a position as an 11th-grade high school teacher in my hometown. Before the bell rang on 03 August 2020, I put the rubber gloves on that the school’s office gave me and sprayed each desk down with bleach. The tight latex gloves did not fit my hand properly but worked for its purpose. The disinfectant left an aroma in the air, similar to a hospital. Brinnnnng, the bell sounded, and the students began marching into the building as I watched them from my window. My forehead began to bead up with sweet (I was nervous for my first day). Then, I put on my mask and stood outside my door. As I waited at the door, I remembered the old days when I was a student at that same school, I was now a teacher. Back then, the hallways were filled with my peers, there were lots of hugging and other high schoolers interaction going on. Everywhere I turned, my peers were smiling and excited to share summer stories. In a blink of eyes, when I looked at the hallways, my peers were no longer there. Neither was the high schooler me. Now, I look through the hallways and it is filled with faceless students. The unnatural phenomena brought forth by Covid-19. The wearing of a mask in the U.S. society is unnatural. The students tried to stay six feet away and tried not make physical contact with anyone. The masks covered their faces, and many wore gloves to open their lockers. As I greeted my students entering my class first period, they seemed happy to be in school in-person since all surrounding corporations had announced they would have online instruction. As they seated, they soon realized that each desk was coated in residues from the cleaning products. I then went to the front of my class and tried to write my name on the board. The marker streaked the board. The cleaning products from wiping each room down from the cleaning staff had left a clear coating that made it impossible to write on. This was a common theme for each class that entered my room. By the end of the day, the room was filled with body and cleaning supplies odors. The coating on the board ruined my marker. My hands shriveled from the gloves, and my ears were red and irritated from the mask. I thought to myself, “this is the new norm now. I must get used to it, so students do not feel overwhelmed.” -
2021-06-23
The mask
Walking into the Store, looking around, oh no! I forgot my mask :/ -every person going into a store -
2021-06-23
Wedge issue
A facemask is a warning that reads: keep your distance lest you drag me down with you. The people who wear them are of no concern, they’ve chosen to live. It’s those that go about, naked and exposed, that should frighten you. -
2021-06-12
Mask trash Golden Gate Bridge Park
Several disposable masks littered the grounds around the Golden Gate Bridge Park on the north end of the bridge. This photo shows a blue disposable mask near a lookout. -
2021-06-12
Mask trash San Francisco
While visiting the Golden State Bridge, I came across this blue fabric mask with a penguin print. -
2021-06-03
Free Haircuts!
In the early days of the pandemic, like many others, I needed a haircut so badly. Again, like many others, I took to cutting my own hair. Instead of just chopping at my hair, I closely followed a youtube video posted by celebrity hairdresser Brad Mondo. Since I have given myself three or four haircuts in this same style. It works! I always get compliments and no one ever suspects that I did it myself. I have long and thick hair so this method is saving me a lot money each time I need a haircut!! -
2021-06-03
A Pet Emergency During the Pandemic
The story describes the difficulties of dealing with emergencies during the pandemic time and how social isolation negatively affects one's ability to weather these emergencies. -
2020-06-01
June 1st 2020 Chicago Lincoln Park Protest
This was during the middle of the pandemic and I took a picture showing how not even a pandemic could stop people from uniting to protest against injustices. People can be seen wearing masks and keeping a bit of distance from one another considering.