Items
Date is exactly
2020-12-08
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2020-12-08
Teaching Middle and High School Virtually in the Pandemic
I taught both middle and high school during the pandemic, which required virtual learning. I lived with a roommate and both of us couldn’t teach at the same time in the same room, so I taught exclusively from the floor of my walk-in closet. I sat on the floor of that 5’x3’ closet every work day for 9 months. The carpet was scratchy and my legs would often fall asleep from sitting in one place too long. I often woke up just before class started at 7:30AM and was groggy. Many of us ate breakfast during first period. The thing that bothered me most however was the silence. The only sound of class was me, talking. My lecture, my out loud readings for accommodated students, and my replies to students typing in the chat were the only things I heard for 5-6 hours of the day. There were none of the usually noises I associate with my job: idle chatter from every corner of the room, tapping of pencils, the pencil sharpener, a student blowing their nose, clicking of pens, hoody zippers, crinkling paper, students moving around in their chairs, chip bags opening, metal water bottles falling on the floor and a student yelling “foul” afterwards, occasional shouting, crying, and groaning. Students very rarely, if ever, turned on their cameras or mics to talk to me. I surely was isolated more than the average remote worker; yes, I talked all day, but it felt like it was talking to no one. I don’t have much tangible evidence to show from the pandemic. Frankly, I didn’t do anything noteworthy of documenting. The three pictures attached are from the beginning of the pandemic, around December 2020. Google Meets hadn’t quite caught up to some of their pitfalls technologically and teachers had to “kick out” each student manually, and when 7-10 of your students are AWOL, it can get tedious. I started to make up dumb games and sing songs to entertain myself, please enjoy my new line to the Oompa Loompa song. You can see that all the students are just icons—no faces, no voices. For reference, I have attached two videos of the end of the school year from before the pandemic. You can hear how loud the classroom is with all the students talking to each other, or playing games and dancing to music. After seeing these small clips, you can understand just how soul-destroying it was to teach to a bunch of digital circles who made no noise. -
2020-12-08
Nutcracker
A comic strip about Covid-19 -
2020-12-08
Final Paper for H396
For the past five months, I have interned with A Journal of the Plague Year to help curate submissions from the year 2020. I have learned a lot about the collecting process and am excited to have been a part of such a great project! -
2020-12-08
Big Events Now Virtual
Whether it be a sports game, musical or concert, its not happening in person during covid. Covid has made social distancing a top priority, meaning that huge gatherings in confined spaces probably won't work. Sports events including the NBA & NHL took the route in keeping there players safe from the disease by implementing the "bubble" which ultimately isolated the players from all contact except for games and practices. No concerts are in session as well as musicals, they can be shown virtually on the other hand. -
2020-12-08
Covid Vs School
It was my senior year, school was seemingly fine until the virus hit. At first we were all out of school without a learning plan. As a week or so went by schools all over the US began to use Zoom. Zoom is a virtual classroom environment that allows teachers to easily share their screen as well as their assignment plans virtually from anywhere with an internet connection. -
2020-12-08
One day I'll...
A huge theme of this pandemic has been having hope. Since COVID came about, professionals have been thrown threw a loop with what works and what the best things to do are, never mind the public being even more lost and clueless. We have had to kind of just follow what professionals tell us is best to do, do our part, and have hope for brighter and healthier days. Despite varying beliefs, most people have seemed to be able to unite through hope. Hoping for the health and safety of ourselves and others, hope for things to return to semi-normal feeling, and just hoping to feel comfort. This tweet shows a playful side of hope. Making the right choices so that you can make other choices later on. By Katelyn not going out and celebrating her 21st how she wanted to and dreamed of doing, she's doing her part in stopping the spread and ensuring that there is a future in which we get to go out to crowded bars and get shots from strangers to celebrate. -
2020-12-08
My Personal Experience Turning 21 During a Pandemic
This collection item not only symbolizes my personal experience of turning 21 during a pandemic but it also demonstrates something significant about my generation under COVID. I was one of the many 1999 babies that experienced this milestone birthday during the pandemic. This photo is to remind that I was not the only one who had to celebrate this birthday in my kitchen and that I was not the only one who couldn’t go out to a bar and take shots with random people. This pandemic has brought about a lot of unexpected things to many people. Turning 21 during COVID times and having an impromptu celebration during it is something that I think is important to document and remember, not only for my generation but for everyone. Looking back on the unexpected and homemade 21st birthday celebrations that people had this year will be something to cherish one day. These kinds of stories are also important in documenting how many people, although there were far worse things going on around them, chose to be selfless and sacrifice this very special birthday for the safety of themselves and others. -
2020-12-08
Six Foot Seating
This photo shows a bench that is an advertisement for the dating app Bumble located in Boston’s Seaport district (exact location unknown). The bench has two seats, with space for social distancing between, which goes to show how far people are taking social distancing guidelines. Bumble makes use of participatory content here to engage the public to interact with their advertisements, which may lead to more interest in further interacting with the app. This object has the potential to interest future historians, as it shows how brands used the pandemic as ways of advertising. It also shows the ways in which not only we changed, but the physical objects around us changed to adapt to the pandemic. -
2020-12-08
Critique of Canada's COVID response
The author of this tweet provides a critique of the government's response to COVID-19. -
2020-12-08
COVID-19's Impact on Low-Income Workers
This article discusses the struggles that low- income workers face because of the pandemic. Low-income workers are struggling to pay rent, losing their jobs, having use money from their saving accounts, and more. The article also provides graphs with demographics that consist of race, gender, and income groups. These graphs are useful in order to make comparisons. This article fills an archival silence and amplify the voices of marginalized groups because it highlights the struggle that these groups are facing. The silence may be intentional. The media is covering billionaires like Jeff Bezos who are only getting richer during the pandemic, instead we must focus on the average person/working class because they contribute to the overall success of our economy. -
2020-12-08
Accurate Covid-19 Working Meme
I found this meme to be quite interesting. We use humor to better our mood during tough times, however this meme depicts reality: the anxiety about going to work this year during this strange new pandemic. This collection item can help future historians determine the society’s apprehension and concerns towards employment during COVID-19. A historian might wonder what this meme implies. Well, this meme implies that the public fears getting sick and what that holds, fear of spreading it to love ones, fear of not recovering, and perhaps work conditions are not entirely prepared. This meme can imply many things based on what a historian wants to argue. -
2020-12-08
Advice For The Public During Covid-19
The World Health Organization (WHO) on their website has some advice for the public on how to stay safe in general during the pandemic. Some precautions include keeping rooms well ventilated, avoiding crowds, cleaning your hands, and coughing into your shoulder. They also go on to explain how you should avoid the threes C’s; spaces that are closed, crowded or involve close contact. They do not suggest having gatherings indoors, if a gathering is needed the WHO recommends to meet people outside and wear your masks. In the midst of all of this they do not want you to forget the basics of good hygiene. They promote regularly washing your hands with alcohol-based hand rub or wash, avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth and clean and disinfect surfaces frequently mostly those which are regularly touched. They finish off by knowing what to do if you feel unwell. They lay out the symptoms of covid-19 and tell people if they experience any of these to self isolate themselves. -
2020-12-08
Mental Health in a Pandemic, 2020
“It represents my mental health in the sense that the muddled background color represents all the “crappy” things going on in the world, and the chaotic lines also represent that, but they are the more pressing matters. The chaotic lines also connect to the head, representing the way everything got to me and in my head during this, and gave me a very jealous outlook on life, because there were a lot of people better off than I was, mentally, physically, financially, even though I was not in THAT bad of a place comparatively to others. Also the different textures between watercolor, pencil, and pen is representative of the different layers and different things going on in my life all at once. I really utilized the symbolism of things as well as playing with different textures in a cohesive way to represent myself and my feelings in a more abstract way.” -Sydney Avtges's response to when I asked her how her drawing represents her mental state during the pandemic. -
2020-12-08
Helping residents of N.W.T town get cheaper groceries during the pandemic
A Northwest Territories man's new business involves driving back and forth to the Alberta border to pickup lower priced groceries for the residents of Hay River. -
2020-12-08
Drive-Thru Testing in P.E.I.
Despite showing symptoms or not, residents between the ages of 20 to 29 were asked to get tested in Charlottetown, P.E.I.. Responding to the provinces demands many showed up to drive-thru testing clinics causing long lines and wait times. During this time, P.E.I tested 2,000 people. All results were negative. -
2020-12-08
"Anti-mask sentiment 'very similar to brainwashing,' prof says in wake of Sask. COVID-19 protest"
This photo shows a large gathering of protesters in a park with a man wearing the Canadian flag -
2020-12-08
Working through a pandemic
The experience submitted is to inform people of working conditions during the Covid-19 pandmeic. -
2020-12-08
Testimony from an Automotive Worker
“I'm an Army veteran. I knew the risks of being a soldier and accepted that I can die in the line of duty at a young age. And I was okay with that. However I don’t feel the same way about the automotive industry. Well there has been changes. We have to fill out a form everyday stating we aren't sick or been in contact with covid, as well as go through a temperature scanner and we have to wear a mask and glasses that the company provides. They tell us to stay 6 ft apart but no one does nor do they enforce it. When someone does come in sick they clean their station and 10 minutes later we start up again. If you show symptoms you are not allowed to come to work. Even if your test comes up negative you are forced to stay home. As a whole we are feeling like we are risking our lives for nothing but to make people richer from the sweat of our brow. And because of that a lot of people including myself have been suffering mentally and physically, we are overworked, people are still getting sick, dying and yet we continue to run. We don’t see ourselves as essential even though the company says we are. Our leaders here aren't communicative about covid cases. They don’t tell anyone, we find out from others that were at the scene. Covid is spreading here and nothing is being done to fix that." -
2020-12-08
Canada Post workers describe crowded working conditions at Saskatoon plant
Article on working conditions for Canada Post workers -
2020-12-08
Julie's Paint Party
This photo illustrates how one Canadian business is hosting paint parties for those who are either beginner or experienced painters. These Zoom meetings connect people not only across Canada, but beyond where a community partakes in one of the most popular hobbies during COVID-19. -
2020-12-08
90-Year-Old Woman Becomes First Person to be Vaccinated
The 90-year-old woman, Maggie, became the first person to received the fully tested and approved COVID-19 vaccine as the United Kingdom became the first country to approve the vaccine. This was remarkable due to how fast the vaccine was developed. This could be considered the beginning of the end of the pandemic. -
2020-12-08
Musician questions entertainment restrictions as bars remain open
Article about musicians and live music industry suffering due to Covid-19 -
2020-12-08
Canadian Foodservice Businesses in Turmoil Amid Potential Delays for COVID Vaccinations
Article on the effects on the food service industry -
2020-12-08
You Still Need to Wear a Mask Even if You're Vaccinated
Just because someone gets vaccinated does not automatically mean that they are completely immune to COVID-19. The article states, “A lot of people are thinking that once they get vaccinated, they’re not going to have to wear masks anymore,” said Michal Tal, an immunologist at Stanford University. “It’s really going to be critical for them to know if they have to keep wearing masks, because they could still be contagious.” People can be vaccinated and still contract and spread the virus. -
2020-12-08
SARS didn't prepare the hospitality industry for the prolonged impact of COVID-19
Article discussing the effects of the pandemic on the hospitality industry -
2020-12-08
New Food Price Report Says Canadians Will Pay Hundreds More For Groceries In 2021
Article about rising food prices due to the pandemic -
2020-12-08
Distillers scrambled to make hand sanitizer for free. Then the federal government moved on
Article discussing hand sanitizer production during the COVID-19 pandemic -
2020-12-08
Collection of the most touching events in China,2020
2020 is not a year that we dreamed of. The cover of this video was people counting down the New Year in Wuhan, celebrating the year of 2020 is here. Then, the pandemic stoke. Reporter in live news cried because there was not a single car running in the street in Wuhan; a 23-year-old healthcare worker said she couldn’t cry because that will make her goggles misty and she won’t be able to see. Doctors cried because the president do their hospitals was exposed to COVID-19 and sacrificed. 2020 has been a year of heartbreaking. But, when there is love, there is hope. Together fighting the virus, Wuhan lifted the lockdown and families were reunited. The loving and caring from the society also showed in many other aspects; police man wished the students good luck with their college entry examine, a grandma bragging her flowers to her grandchildren through her security camera every morning. I couldn’t help but cried when watching this video. Like the subtitle in the end, “2020 has been a hard year, but thank you for showing your love and kindness.” -
2020-12-08
Sight at a metro station
People were lining up at the metro station waiting for the next train. They strictly followed the social distance and wore face masks -
2020-12-08
College Basketball During a Pandemic
Amidst this pandemic my college has been able to give me some sense of normalcy for my freshmen year of college. I was blessed with the opportunity to be able to go play college basketball at a small NAIA school in the middle of Kansas. So far this year I was able to start my season on time and we haven't had any run-ins with Covid other than one of our games was rescheduled due to the other team having a positive case but it has been my anchor though this semester. Everything is so strange now but I know as soon as I stepped on the basketball court everything melts away for those 2 hours. We don't have to wear masks around each other because we have created our own little bubble to protect each other and for that I am so so so thankful for. Like I said earlier basketball has kept me grounded. I moved 7 hours from home and going to college is stressful enough but moving 2 states away as a freshmen in college and during a pandemic?? Now that's stressful. Without basketball I would have dropped out of my school by now. This sport has kept me going because I know it is a safe place for my mind to let go of the stress that has built up these last few months and for that I thank God for protecting my team, school and conference from Covid-19 so we could have a somewhat normal season. -
2020-12-08
How Covid-19 Changed my 2020 Plans
5,4,3,2,1 HAPPY NEW YEARSSS!! Everything seemed in place to make 2020 my best year since my New Year's resolutions could finally come true as the time was just right and my mindset was determined. For a few months, things are going awesome. Word was spreading that a virus was attacking China “ nothing to worry about they'll fix things” “ it's probably just like the flu” what words that we threw around when bam march comes around school cancels. The two weeks the school said that we were going to be put quickly turned into 5,6,7,8, A whole year?? Nothing less it was a big letdown as the rest of the year seemed to be ruined. After a few days of reflecting I got myself together and decided that a virus wasn't going stop me from achieving my goals, “where there's a will there's a way” said my mother and she was right!! The determination got back into my head and I found safe ways to do the things on my resolutions list while taking precautions and thinking of others. My message is that don't stop working towards your goals where there motivation and determination nothing is impossible. -
2020-12-08
Most Memorable Curations
As I have learned to curate for the Journal of the Plague Year Archive this semester, I have been exposed to the many stories of different types of people during this awful pandemic year of 2020. Of the many items that I have curated, quite a few really stood out to me, and I tried to narrow it down to just one, but I couldn’t, so I chose two. The reason these two items stood out to me, and why many did, was the fact that they were relatable and they were emotional. The first item that really stood out to me was submitted by a woman that talked about why the pandemic terrifies her. She talked about how sad it was to see people not taking this seriously, and how ignorant people were being. She also spoke about the violence, and the rush to buy an insane amount of items from the store to prepare for what felt like an apocalypse. The part that got me was at the end, she discussed how she had been furloughed in her company and she had no source of income, so she had to move into an apartment. You could really tell how scared and stressed she was just by reading it. I could really feel her emotions and it really made me sit back and think about how many innocent people are being put through such hell. The second item that really stood out to me was submitted by a woman whose mother was in a nursing home. There was a picture submitted with the text that showed her mother peeking through her window. Nursing homes are among the many businesses that are very strict and are taking extra precautionary measures, so her mother is not allowed to have any visitors, only through a window. Her mother is 98 years old, and it saddens her to not be able to see her mother, especially not knowing when the next time she will be able to. I can personally relate to this because my grandma lives in a nursing home back in my hometown of Lewiston, ID. It is hard enough to live so far away and not be able to see her, but now I am not even allowed to see her when I visit home. It has been a hard year for my family because my grandma has dementia, and not being able to visit her cuts even deeper. My mother has especially had a rough year, because she has to sit and wait to see her mom, not knowing when that will be. -
2020-12-08
Jared Walpurgis Oral History, 2020/12/08
Three months ago, Jared and I conducted an interview talking about our personal reactions and experiences with COVID. Now, he provides a shocking update as well as answers to how we can relate themes of anti-masks and anti-vaccines to past pandemics. -
2020-12-08
Wings Over the Rockies Through the Pandemic
Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum is located in a hangar of the former Lowry Air Force Base in eastern Denver, Colorado. The museum offers a host of historic aircraft, artifacts, space objects, and more. According to their website, each year the museum can expect “roughly 160,000 visitors representing all 50 U.S. states and 34 countries around the world.” This year has been much different. The pandemic of 2020 has had a major impact on people, the economy, and businesses all around the world. Certain organizations that rely on in-person attendance has been hit especially hard by the effects of COVID-19. Wings Over the Rockies closed its doors on March 13, 2020 indefinitely. Some staff members were able to continue to work from home. Others were not. When Wings reopened its doors over three months later the museum looked and operated entirely different. In an effort to follow state and CDC guidelines as well as put staff and guests at ease, the museum adopted a new system. Now, museum staff and visitors require face masks, the hangar is sectioned off to keep track of the amount of people in one area, signs and markers are placed throughout the museum to enforce social distancing, and visitors are required to pre-purchase timed tickets. Even with this entirely new system throughout the museum, the biggest effect of COVID-19 on the museum is the silence that plagues its building. As people are reflecting on the pandemic and adjusting their own lives to the changes it mandates, certain organizations, like museums, are struggling to attract visitors. Compared to the year 2019, the attendance to the museum during the months of August through November was down an average of 55% this year. Events at the museum, which provides a major source of revenue, is down 75%. A majority of employees work an average of 2-3 days from home per week. The educational programs that Wings provides, which previously saw students running about flying model airplanes and even building an actual plane, are being moved to virtual platforms or are being cancelled entirely. The question for places like museums is not “when will it be safe to return,” because the 182,000 square foot hangar boasted by this museum is more socially distanced than your local grocery store. The question is, “when will people feel financially and mentally comfortable to return to optional places such as museums.” Until society can step up and do what is necessary to return life to normal, the hope is that the educational and fascinating gems, like the Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum, can keep its doors open to see that day. -
2020-12-08
Being Lowe’s safe by wearing our mask.
Sometimes social distancing is hard to do at all times. It is especially important to wear a mask when unable to stay 6 feet away from others since covid-19 spreads mainly from people who do not acknowledge the 6 feet requirement and have close contact with one another. While masks offer protection to yourself it also provides protection to those around you. Lowe’s provides its employees with Lowe’s specific make to stay safe. Lowe’s also provides masks to the public who do not have a mask. All one has to do is go to customer service and ask for a mask and we will happily provide one. With this there are some customers that come into the store without a mask and refuse to wear one. We still have to provide great customer service while being safe. In these situations we have to do our best to practice social distancing. -
2020-12-08
Staying Lowe’s Safe During COVID-19
This is one of the many ways Lowe’s is doing its part to make sure their employees and customers are safe. Throughout the store these signs are a great reminder that everyone needs to comply with the requirements of maintaining a 6 foot distance to protect themselves and others from the spread of the illness. The placement of these are in prime locations where the store sees the most traffic. Social distancing is important for not just everyone but especially those who are at higher risk for severe illness for coronavirus. Social distancing crushes the curve, which means that these protective practices slow the rate of infection. As employees we are motivated everyday by our managers to enforce social distancing as much as we can to make customers feel safe while shopping in our store. Along with the signs we also have an automated message that plans periodically to remind the customers to social distancing and how important they are to us and always to have a Lowe’s safe day. -
2020-12-08
Graduating with a Pandemic: Derby High School
A thing that relates to the topic of COVID-19 for me and the jornal of the plague year is the topic graduation. I was luckily able to have a graduation from my school. But I was not able to have graduation until five to six months later. My graduation was the day after I moved into college. A passage I found super interesting in the journal of the plague year was a passage called “High School Graduation:Quarantine Style”. And just like I said earlier their story is just like mine. Unlike them we were only allowed to have two people in our family come and unfortunately for them they were allowed to have nobody. Imagine not being able to graduate and then not be able to look at your family after. Not being able to see the smile on you Dad’s face and the tears running down your mother’s face is something that only happens once in a lifetime. Being able to graduate though, was such an honor. I was just so glad to finally be able to graduate with my friends. Going through those four long drastic years of high school was not easy at all. Especially since I played three sports I was always on the go. But receiving that diploma after and knowing you made it, all your hard work paying off, that is what you live for. Being able to see your principal call you by your name then hand you the diploma, nothing better than that. “Although it wasn’t the graduation/end of senior year that we wanted, the strength of our community consistently shone through all obstacles the pandemic presented to us”. This relates to the city of Derby so much. The precautions we took and everyone not agreeing with it was so amazing to me. My principal worked his butt off to pull off something like this. Crazy thing was he was the first person to say no for graduation because he was scared of coronavirus. So for him to put himself in one of the shoes of his seniors and make graduation was phenomenal. “we were spread apart across the football field, wearing masks in 90 degree heat, and received our diploma in rows”. This is literally the exact same setup as my graduation. But luckily for me it was not ninety degrees outside and it was later in the day. I remember walking on that football field and just seeing how everyone was being spreaded out and going on in my head was “I made it, I made it”. When I received my diploma to me at that point I finally knew I was officially on my own. I was just by myself in the world. Well I still had my parents and stuff but I do not live with them anymore. So after I rang the bell at my school I officially knew that I was all grown up. It was me versus the world and after I heard that gong I knew it was gametime. -
2020-12-08
Youth Diversion Programs within Covid-19 [MISSING MEDIA]
This is a podcast discussing this implications of COVID-19 on a justice diversion program in Portland, ME. Will COVID change the way that young people are looked at in the justice system? Should we ever go back to "normal" or should we focus on creating a new "normal?"