Did you change your spring break plans because of the virus? From what to what?
No.
How did you feel when you were informed the remainder of the semester would be held online?
I felt that online instruction was not conducive to the SLOs in the course I teach. I was frustrated and a little angry.
What has been your experience with moving classes online? What’s good? What’s not so good?
Moving classes online was a lot of work, and I don’t feel that the class was as successful online as it usually is face-to-face. Assignments and workshops felt less meaningful and more like busy work, even though they were the same assignments and workshops we would have done enthusiastically in the classroom. Zoom doesn’t have that same personal touch, and students seemed disoriented and emotionally flat. I like to sit among my students in the classroom and discuss texts with them as if I were one of them — after all, I feel I learn from them as much as they learn from me — but as Canvas caretaker and Zoom host, I had to play king of the class. The trust and openness we had in the classroom felt diminished as a result of the new dynamic.
How has the virus (and the precautions taken to prevent it spreading) impacted your daily life?
Life doesn’t stop because of social distancing. I lost both my grandmother and a close friend of the family just before spring break. Then on May 1, my beloved little dog was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Social distancing meant distancing myself from the people and activities I would otherwise have had to help me cope. Grieving is lonely enough without being physically isolated. In a face-to-face environment, I would have talked with colleagues about the situation. I might have even mentioned it in class under appropriate circumstances. Mentioning the situation online felt like attention seeking. I don’t know why it’s different, but I couldn’t talk online. I suppose teaching and socializing are the same in that they both lose something important when people aren’t in the same physical space together.
How worried are you about getting the virus?
Not at all.
Do you know anyone who has gotten COVID-19?
Yes.
Are you staying in? What are you doing to pass the time?
I’m still working; I’m just working at odd hours. I’ve also binge watched “Father Brown” and “Midsomer Murders.”
Are you going out? Where do you go and what is it like?
I drive up to Molino or over to Hurst Hammock or Ruby’s Fish Camp and sit by the river.
What is giving you hope and/or strength right now?
This cannot last.