Day 63

Wednesday May 13, 2020 . It is the middle of the week and feels as though it may be the middle of the pandemic, meaning we would have 60 more days of safer-at-home. There is talk right now among district personnel on the scenarios of how our next school year could begin. One scenario is going back in person (it would have to be a full safe factor for all if this were to happen)
Another is beginning the year teaching remotely with additional measures to close the opportunity gap and catch students up by increasing rigor and having accountability and grading.
Third is a hybrid of these two and nobody knows what that will look like just yet.
     I did go in person to school today to complete my end-of-year check out. It felt the same with just less people around. One or two other teachers, an administrator or two and one custodian.
    The novel coronavirus news around the world is the same. More new cases, more deaths.  There were some reports about countries that reopened and saw some ill effects causing them to lock down again.  The countries were Lebanon and South Korea.  This is bothersome because our president is pushing many governors to reopen states in an attempt to recharge the economy.  If it comes with a spike in infections and possibly deaths there could be a lot of panic and frustration.  New numbers to look at today are the number of active cases 2,472,075 and of those cases 98% are considered mild and 2% critical.  In other news, health care workers are saying they have a better grasp of the virus and more importantly treatment measures.  In other words, people contracting the virus now stand a solid chance of recovery. Of course having underlying health issues is a big factor.
      If you are looking for some inspirational stories and other off-beat literature look at the Paris Review. I found some interesting articles there. https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/
Here is a beautiful photo of the Effiel Tower, eerily empty of tourists during the pandemic.