As I’ve written about in previous posts, I am having my students blog during the pandemic.  Not all of them are doing it, naturally, but the ones who are doing it are touching me in ways that I would not have fathomed.  Not in a million years.  I have seen sides to them that I would have never seen.  The shy ones have come out of their shells.  I have this one boy who hasn’t really done that well this year.  I think coming to middle school was for him his Waterloo.  But there is something about this kid that is so incredibly likable.  His smile especially.  He has heart.  He has taken to blogging.  Through his words I have discovered that he suffers from a huge lack of self-esteem.  He even wrote that his writing wasn’t good.  With every post I would comment that he was being too hard on himself, and that I loved reading his posts.  His posts tend to be about the facts behind the virus and how to stay healthy.  I see a science/medical career in his future.  He posed a challenge to his classmates that he’d post for twenty straight days in a row, and if he didn’t,  he’d dye his hair, and would film it to post on the blog.  His reason for the challenge?  He wanted to improve his writing skills.  What’s not to love about that?

I met with all of my classes virtually yesterday.  It was actually exhausting, but it was wonderful seeing their faces.  We talked about history class, but we also showed pets, told a few jokes, and I told them that I missed them.  And I do miss them.  (except “the kid”)

One of my students blogged this morning and wrote this:

Isn’t it strange that during school spring break became an object of covetous importance, yet during this extended break we find ourselves missing friends and interaction? I wonder if some day, when this whole event has faded into mere memory, I will envy my quarantined self and wonder why I didn’t enjoy this time to the fullest. I believe it may have something to do with the phrase “You only want what you can’t have.” Maybe the very fact that we aren’t currently experiencing an event increases its appeal. The human mind constantly seeks betterment, often better circumstances, and knows the best way to improve something is to try something different. This might explain why some people seek constant change. Either way, I’m going to try to be as optimistic as possible and see the good in this situation so that I never regret not savoring this time. 

This is from a 13-year old.  I dare say smarter than someone living in a house that’s white in our federal capital.

So, for the title of my post……I try and blog everyday for them too, and I try to be uplifting, even though I may be feeling a bit down.  I was feeling a bit verklempt this morning for a variety of reasons, but I posted this song for them to watch.  The sound of children’s voices somehow always lifts my spirits.  This chorus is on Staten Island in NYC.  They are fifth graders.  They have their own youtube channel!

So this pandemic does indeed have a few silver linings.  One, I get to see my kids in a different light.  Two, “the kid” is with his parents 24-7.  I wonder how that’s going?  Not to well I am sure.

 

In the midst of chaos, there is also opportunity.

—Sun Tsu

I am finding it hard to keep up with my blogging.  One would think it would be easier now that we are under this quarantine.  But since I started my students into blogging, I have found that I spend at least a good three hours a day responding to their posts, and cheering them on.  Some of the kids are really going to town with their posts.  We are even going to create a quarantine cookbook.  They are actually posting recipes with pictures of their final baking masterpieces.

Tomorrow I am going to do my first online class with them, from the comfort of my dining room.  This is so odd!  The crazy thing is that my school district is requiring us to come up with new lessons and learning, but the students aren’t required to do any of it.  I can see their point in a way as a few students don’t have 100% access to the internet.  But if you tell a 13 year old that they don’t have to do something, many aren’t going to do it.  I have them working on a couple of long term assignments.  I will assess if they are doing it tomorrow when we have our online class.  (That is, if they even come to it!  Some will, many won’t.)

Yesterday, after a morning of being on the computer doing school work, I just had to get out of the house.  I haven’t put gas in my car for over a month!  My current pair of running shoes were falling apart, so I called the local running store to see if they were open.  Surprisingly they were!  I got in my car armed with a self-made mask, latex gloves, disinfectant wipes, and lysol for the journey to the store.  I got there and no one was in the store, just the manager and me.  I always get the same brand as I have good luck with them.  So I knew exactly what size to ask for.  Unfortunately, the only color they had was a sky blue color, but I got them anyway.  After spending weeks not finding toilet paper, I thought I’d strike while the iron was hot.

After my purchase, I got in the car, wiped everything down, and then drove a short distance to a place where I sometimes run.  It is next to a large lake and there are tons of running trails.  Even though I am getting up there in years, I still love to run, albeit at a much slower pace than in my younger years.  The sky was blue, the trees had a spring green hue to them and flowers were blooming everywhere.  A great run.

It was good to get away from it all, if just for a little bit of time.

I came across this on youtube this morning and I thought I’d share.  The Sound of Music was the first movie I ever went to at the theater.  I remember it vividly.  When my children were little I introduced them to the movie and they loved it too.  Hope everyone is staying safe!

At the bottom of this post, I have a youtube video with Trump’s sayings during this national crisis.  I cannot help but wonder how our country would be faring if we had a different president.  The man is a moron.

I hope everyone is surviving the virus as best as one could survive such a thing.  I have been trying to stay focused and into a routine.  I have cleaned closets, walked Murphy A LOT,  studied French, blogged with my students, talked to my own kids (who are now really adults, but I still call them “kids”).  I make a list of things to get done everyday as it helps me to stay focused.

I finally ventured out today to get groceries and dog food.  It was a surreal sight seeing everyone with masks and gloves.  I made a mask from a bandana and some hair things that my daughter left behind.  I felt like I was going off into a war zone armed with gloves, a mask, disinfectant wipes, and lysol.  Alas, there still was no toilet paper.  I don’t get that one.

Michael lost his job at his architectural firm and my daughter will be furloughed from her job at the newspaper.  I am hopefully being a good listener as they deal with these losses.  Michael just moved into a new house with a heftier house payment so this could not have come at a worse time.  No comfort comes from the White House either.

Murphy and I went on a long hike yesterday at a state park close to my house.  A new trail was built last year that we explored.  We both enjoyed being out of the house and seeing something besides our neighborhood.   It was actually quite warm, in the low 80s, and for a few hours thoughts of the virus floated away.  The only time the idea of this virus entered my psyche was when we meet a hiker and we both respected the social distancing.

Murphy sure has been a great companion through all of this.  We have bonded even more.  I hope everyone is safe and well.

~Michael

Who would have ever thought this?  Not in a million years.

Sometimes I feel like the walls are closing in, sometimes not.  The blogs I created for my students have been a great hit.  I find them to be exhausting as I feel I need to comment on all of them, and it can sometimes take me a good three hours a day.  But it does help me stay connected with them.  I am encouraging them to comment on the blogs the other students are writing, and they are beginning to do that.  I try and give them ideas and suggestions on what to write about, and ideas they can incorporate, but I do understand the whole writer’s block thing.

I have encouraged them to listen to music, and I have encouraged them to write down what they are feeling, even if it is a bit gloomy.  I shared with them this video that I posted on my blog almost a year ago.  I mentioned that this video couldn’t be made today because of the pandemic.

 

Then I showed them the video they just made.  They changed their name from Pub Choir to Couch Choir.  I love their rendition of “Close to You”.

We will get through this somehow.  Hopefully all in one piece.  I hope this post finds everyone healthy.

Take care,

Michael

 

I hope everyone is doing okay during this uncertain time.  I mentioned in a previous post that I started a blog outlet for my students.  It has mushroomed into something that I had never imagined.  They are posting all sorts of things, some of them quite personal.  I guess the blog has been an outlet for them.  I find that when I read them, I tear up.  They are not holding back.  If this pandemic hadn’t happened, I would never have created this blog for them.  It wouldn’t have dawned on me.  So silver linings and all of that are real.

One student posted about what makes one cry.  I am inserting part of her post below.  I feel a bit funny about putting something so private on my own personal blog, but I just felt the need to share it.  This student can be a bit quirky at times.  But I have always loved quirky.

What makes you cry?

Think about it.

When I see death scenes, I don’t cry.

Not that I’m not sad, but somehow I can’t cry.

Yesterday, I rewatched the movie The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, which is a fairly basic movie about a man named Walter Mitty. When his job along with that of his co-worker are threatened, Walter takes action in the real world embarking on a global journey that turns into an adventure more extraordinary than anything he could have ever imagined.

Now there’s one scene (and I know this will sound really weird), Walter travels to Greenland, and on his quest to find clues about the mystery pictures he has been given, he ends up in a bar. A drunken client tells him that he knows where he can find more information about the pictures, and offers to give him a ride in his work helicopter. At first, Walter decides to say no (as a rational person may), but he thinks about his life, and how he rarely has adventure. He doesn’t have a reason NOT to try new things. The song, A Space Oddity, plays, and the countdown in the song gives him a timeframe for when he needs to do this.

And I cry. Every time.

Maybe it’s how I feel it reflects on my life.

Wondering, “what does this mean?”

There’s more to her post that I am not going to include.  It was insightful and thought provoking.  I find that I am spending hours each day commenting on their posts.  I don’t want them to think that what they are writing has no audience.  Sometimes I feel like a simple listener, sometimes I feel like I am a psychologist, sometimes an encourager.  I have suggested to them to make sure that they comment on other student blogs as writers always gather inspiration from what others say about their posts.  I know I do from all the wonderful friends I have made from this blog.

My mom has been staying with me for a few days.  She just left on her way back up to upstate NY.  I could tell she worried about what is going to happen with this virus and she just wanted to get home.  My brother and sister-in-law called last night and were encouraging her to stay with me until the summer….though I have a fierce love for my mother, the thought of that was daunting.  As my mom and I talked afterward, I discovered that the only reason she was considering staying longer is that she was concerned for me being alone.  I wanted to tell her about Michael, but I just couldn’t.  I am mad at myself for that, but I just couldn’t.  Just like my students, I am a ball of uncertainty.

I am going to post this video tomorrow for them.  If you read this blog, you know I am always looking for music to help me make sense of it all.

I hope this finds everyone healthy and safe.

~Michael

As many of you know, I often post music videos that in some way speak to me.  Below I’ve posted one.  I was listening to a station on my apple music as I was walking Murphy the other day.  The song came up and as I always, I tried to listen to the words.  When I got home, I looked for the music video online, and then the song really had meaning.

The governor just cancelled all Virginia public schools for the rest of the year.  As I mentioned in a previous post, I created a blogging outlet for my students.  Since the announcement the students have been posting away, and I actually think it is good therapy for them.  They are upset, but they are also resilient.  Some are even posting recipes and poems!  So I am proud of what I created.  My blog helps me, so I figured that for some of them, writing would help them too.

One of my students wrote this poem:

The Last Goodbye

so

i guess this is

the last goodbye?

we won’t see one another

until next year.

so

what are we to do?

keep on

keeping on?

or drown in a pit of

despair?

cheers to our accomplishments

and a warm welcome to our mistakes.

think of all the things we will

miss out on.

newspaper?

games?

selling bracelets?

revolutionary war?

we could still make that happen.

we might as well try.

we could be held

accountable.

funny word.

accountable.

what does it mean?

to be able to do one’s work

without having to be watched like a

hawk?

i guess we kids won’t able to

live up to those expectations

unless someone actually tries.

but for now,

the last

goodbye.

This poem is from a really good kid who loves to learn.  I have always had a connection with her.  When our eyes meet, she reads my mind and I read hers.  She is in the class with “the kid”, and sometimes when her eyes meet mine, she gives me the strength to power through.  It is funny how I am their teacher, but what they don’t realize is that they teach me things every day.  Things about life and joy and resilience.

I am going through periods of grief I think as I find myself tearing up at drop of a hat.  We are living through something quite historic.  I thank God that I have this blog to record all of it.