Items

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  04/16/2020

  Mikayla Marshall Oral History, 2020/04/16

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  2021-10-05

  Marci LeMonnier Oral History, 2021/10/05

  As her parent, it was interesting to ask my daughter questions about the pandemic and hear her responses. As a family, we were really lucky to stay healthy and be able to spend a lot of extra time together. I've transcribed the interview in the attached Word file.
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  2021-05-23

  BLUR - Life During COVID

  This story details the way life felt during COVID, just a blur, a mix of days where they all felt the same, except for maybe one or two. It explains how COVID changed school for me, what my habits became, and the sort of things I had to deal with. This is important to me because it's the only time I've ever explained what the last year has made me feel, and it's very raw. It's not some grand essay, just exactly how I've felt, and the issues COVID has caused me.
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  2020-04-29

  Jewish Melbourne: 'YG Melbourne Resumes Full Seder Virtually Amidst Coronavirus'

  This news update begins: "The Communists in Russia were not able to shut down Tomchei Temimim, and COVID-19 won’t shut it down either. The challenge today is different, but the mission remains the same, in what is surely Tomchei Temimim’s final frontier before Moshiach’s arrival. The Rebbe Rashab, the Frierdiker Rebbe, the Rebbe, and all the Temimim of old are looking to us, the final generation of Temimim, to carry the baton over the finish line. To that end, YG Melbourne resumed full Seder today via online platforms Zoom and Google Classroom, with the aim of supporting each Bochur in keeping a regular full day of Seder. Instead of reducing Torah study, YG’s full-service virtual Zal resumed Seder two days ahead of schedule. Seder was also opened up to all Bochurim enrolled in overseas Yeshivos who are stranded in Australia due to COVID-19 travel restrictions."
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  2020-08-17

  6 hours of Zoom for 1st grade, it's going swell (or like 💩)

  Distance learning started for my 1st grader. After seeing the schedule, I could tell it was going to be rough. She’s supposed to be in class just under 6 hours a day. 6 hours on Zoom M-F. I couldn’t handle that as an adult, so why would I expect a 6yo to do it? The district handed out Chromebooks, which are fun for the 6yo because you can touch the screen or click the track pad, but ultimately the processors are too slow. It took so long to load Google classroom that I gave her my laptop, even though I really needed it to get my own work done. Most of the day was spent listening and trying to get the technology to work. If other students are loud or disruptive on Zoom it’s a lot harder to ignore them because they can directly compete with the teacher if they’re unmuted on the screen. The online learning program crashed for over an hour, so she sat and colored while we waited to reconnect. Maya drew this picture of our dog, yes pooping on a flower, but whatever. We resorted to bathroom humor to make light of the moment. The whole time I felt so stressed because the first day was uncomfortable and a bit boring. By the end of the afternoon she was supposed to transition into “special areas.” Today was music, but she didn’t want to stay in class. She was sick of learning on the computer. I’ll also say that the music teacher was a bit obnoxious asking for introductions and really digging in deep to people’s summer activities. I was over it at that point too. I really don’t care if a classmate is at a cabin, why does she need to sit there and listen to all of this? It was already a long day, and she wanted to quit. I logged her out of Zoom early and we’ll try again tomorrow.
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  2020-05-31

  Coronary Diaries

  My quarantine experience consists of online classes and assignments and I couldn't be more grateful. Online classes and assignments only take out a percentage of my day and after that I am free to do whatever I want. I'm grateful that all I have to do is homework because there are front line workers that are facing the very danger that has kept us inside. Their days are long and fearful while mine are in front of a screen.
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  2020-05-19

  High School In May 2020

  In March of 2020, highschool had to be adapted to comply with social distancing. Large groups put people at risk of contracting Covid 19 so schools had to be closed. Teachers and students alike had to adapt to this newfound reality. The screenshot represents a Tuesday afternoon in May when I would have been in a classroom. But instead, my assignment was online through Google Classroom and my tutoring session was on-line on the Zoom platform.
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  2020-05-01

  My spring 2020 High School Classroom

  This is my classroom for the rest of the school year. I have a feline supervisor who sleeps on the job. I don't get to see my students, our contact is limited to emails and comments in Google Classrom. I don't get to smile at them or high five them for their good work. Some students are completely missing in action, others turn in the work, but remain otherwise silent. Too many send emails full of anxiety and stress about school and life. I sit here for hours everyday.