Teaching During Pandemic Times

Remote learning and teaching

Online teaching and online learning

E-teaching and e-learning

Distance learning

            There are many ways to say how teachers have been working since the pandemic hit the planet; here I have listed just a few. That kind of makes sense because we're facilitators and remote teaching and learning facilitates through technology; live or recorded. The remote classroom does not provide the warmth and the security that the traditional classroom does, though. Online you cannot really tell whether the student is paying attention and absorbing all the information being exposed to. That question mark stamped on their faces cannot be seen.

The learning environment that the teachers and students are in are not the same which makes it hard to control. For instance, the noises in the house; the noises that come from the outside; the inappropriate or uncomfortable furniture or even other distractions, like cooking, cleaning, video games and Netflix.

Many students and teachers are locked down with other family members, who also have to work and study from home and sometimes there aren´t enough rooms in the homes available for these family members to be separated from each other during this work or study period. Sometimes you see small children coming into the room to see what is going on on the computer screen. There are other times when you here someone hollering. Not to mention, the pets that like to jump all over the place and take part in the online classes.

Although many people are in their homes, the city is wide awake, and the exterior noises come in. There is no way to control that. Construction work is full blast. The cars racing by. The police cars, fire trucks and ambulances soaring by with their sirens on. These noises we cannot control. A possibility here would be headphones or earphones; however, there have been studies that shows that these tools can ignite vertigo in some people who use them for a long period of time. One thing is good though, no planes are flying around, at least that sound has been removed.

Back pain caused by inappropriate seating or too much seating is something that loads of people have been complaining about. In addition to this, headaches and joint issues. In the traditional classroom, the teacher walks around much more than at home. The students do too due to the fact that they need to move from one classroom to the other. Now at home, that does not happen as often.

Despite the fact that many tools are available to mimic the traditional classroom face-to-face instruction cannot take place, which makes learning and teaching a bit harder for some people. On the other hand, students are less illiterate than teachers; the student´s level of competence and understanding in the case of information technology is sometimes greater than the teachers. Nonetheless, the teacher should not be afraid to ask for help and in most part of the times the student is glad to do so. In this teacher-student scenario, everyone is a teacher, and everyone is a student.

 E-learning from a student's point of view is that it is a self-paced learning situation. The student is able to take his/her own time to do the activities suggested different from the traditional classroom situation where the teacher is always controlling the time for students to get tasks done and not everyone is able to do those tasks under those circumstances or within that time limit. However, since the teacher is dealing with the class of 25 students, it sometimes becomes very difficult to allow each student to work at their own pace.

As soon as the pandemic was announced and teachers were told they would be teaching from their homes online, there was some sort of panic. Each institution decided to use a platform for the teachers to work on. In my case, we were given a two-day workshop on how to use the platform that we are using. Just like students it was tiring and I could see that too much online activity does wear you out which was a good experience because then I was able to kind of measure how much I would ask my  students to do during their 45-minute class so as not to overload them.

 How to use a virtual classroom online based platform is something that we are not taught at the University. Some teachers prefer to record their classes while others live. I, myself, prefer to do it live. From the experience that I'm acquiring, teaching English online is more fun live. However, there are so many good professionals out there who have already posted tutorials on specific topics grammar, writing, reading and listening related that I really do not need to record anything.

What I have tried to do is write out a plan where the students work on their own some of the times and other times online and basically online is just to touch base to see what questions they had based on what they had been doing; listen to a song and talk about it; read a short story and then talk about it; or just have a question and answer conversation class. Of course, there are times when I need to explain grammar because they could not understand it well.

In the beginning, I must confess that I was very afraid and the butterflies in the stomach did not let me sleep the night before my first online class and at the end of an eight-period class day, my body told me that I would have to make some changes. Sitting in front of the computer for such a long time wasn't healthy and the body screamed it out at me through excruciating  pain, so I put myself in the shoes of the learner and also thought about the fact that his or her being in front of the computer all day would also cause the same pain that I was feeling even though they're much younger. Therefore, I   have worked out a plan where I’m online all the time; however, not live. The students do not have to be either. But they can have it on in case they have a question. I also use other techniques like Netflix where the student can watch a movie or a show from a comfortable sofa for bed and then at the end they have to work on it either in writing or in speaking. I have also used techniques where they have to use their coursebook  so that they don't have to be online. I must confess that now I have gotten used to the idea of teaching from home; however, I surely miss being in the classroom with my students. Although sometimes they might drive me crazy, it does make a difference. Being a teacher for over 35 years, I can state that e-learning is much more tiring than working in the classroom when it comes to planning and the corrections and everything else that goes into teaching.

At the end of the day we are to be proud of ourselves for hanging in there and doing the best we can to occupy our minds and learn with the situation we are in; we as in teachers and students. One teaching and learning from the other. 

Remember: this too shall pass.

Written: May 28, 2020

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menopause

menopause? still a mystery…

night sweats

headaches

hot flashes

libido zero

gas (lots of gas)

bloating

mood swings

aches and pains

insomnia

carbs galore

tiredness

dizziness

weight gain

slowed metabolism

chills

vaginal dryness

thinning hair

dry skin

loss of breast fullness

hormones zero
forgetfulness

               Most women go through all the sensations listed above during the menopause period which can last up to 10 years. A decade. Those who are lucky only suffer from a few of them, however, some are very unlucky and have to juggle all of them all the time.

               Life does not prepare you for this nor does school.  You would think that by having read about it or heard people talking about it when it came your turn to go through this, you would have the weapons to face it. You might be thinking that hormones could be taken, but then again there are those women who have had a history of cancer in their family and are not allowed to take them. Then what?

               For these women, (you are not alone sisters!) some people say that blackberry tea helps and yams too. But how much tea or how many yams can a person consume? A lot if it helps, believe me.

               Studies show that caffeine increases hot flashes and other symptoms related to menopause. The recommendation is to eliminate it from your diet. Personal experience has shown me that if I remove my doses of coffee from my daily diet, irritability increases a lot. Therefore, it is not a good idea to get rid of my coffee. Meditation and yoga can help with the mood swings and there is always that great method – breathe in and breathe out and count to ten. It never fails.

So, here I am still taking deep breaths and counting to ten.

Written: May 26, 2020

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And their love did not withstand the pandemic…

The young couple had met at church. There couldn't have been a better place to meet. They were peculiar to the eyes of others for both of them had a physical aspect that you could notice as soon as you met them. She wore heavy thick glasses because her eyesight was very poor, and he was cross-eyed making him not very attractive to the other girls in the congregation. Nonetheless, to each other, there couldn´t have been more beautiful people on the planet. One could say it was love at first sight.

The day they met they knew they were meant to be together. He thought she was very pretty without her glasses on, of course, and she thought he was very intelligent, which he was. They dated for over three years until he finally decided to propose. With the help of her father, he planned the most romantic and amazing proposal. It had been carefully planned and the only person who was not aware of what was about to happen was the girl.

It was on a Sunday during the service at church. He had the blessing of her parents, now he would also get the blessing of the congregation. He had put on his best suit and made sure the ring was in his pocket. Her father had sat in the front row, so the whole family followed along. The young man called his future bride to say he wasn´t feeling so well, so he would not be able to go to that day´s service. It was a little white lie for him to be able to sit in the back so she wouldn´t see him and the surprise would be stunning. She would cry and accept, and they would embrace. The smile on his face expressed his inner joy.

After the choir and praise during the service, the pastor asked if there were any testimonies on that day. She was worried and praying for her boyfriend so she didn´t really notice when the young man came up front and took the microphone. He cleared his throat and started to speak. She looked up and couldn´t believe her eyes. It was the love of her life, looking real stunning, staring at her with a big smile on his face.

-        I am here today to thank God for giving the most precious blessing, my girlfriend. It took us 27 years to meet, but when we finally met, I knew she was the one.

He turned to his girlfriend took her hand and escorted her to middle of the alter. He got down on one knee; let go of her hand; took out the box which contained the engagement ring and as he opened it he spoke:

-        Love of my life, my greatest gift, will you marry me? Will you give me the pleasure of growing old with me?

She couldn´t believe what was happening. Of course, she would marry him. She said yes. The whole congregation applauded and cheered.

It didn´t take long for the day of the wedding to arrive. She was a pile of nerves and so was he. They were the same age and because of their religion, they had not made love to anyone prior to this day. So, besides the ceremony and the party, she was also worried about their first night as husband and wife. She prayed that it would all go smoothly and be as beautiful as she had always planned.

The ceremony was incredible. The church was full. The preacher´s words sounded like a symphony. The bride and the groom looked beautiful in their outfits. Everything was just perfect and they were feeling so blessed.

After a month as husband and wife, they had to stay locked down at home because of the pandemic that had hit the Earth. They were working from home and stayed together 24/7. You would think that that was just the perfect setting for the newlyweds.

On afternoon, she went into their bedroom and she saw the husband packing.

-        Where are you going?

-        I have filed for a divorce and my lawyer has asked me to leave.

-        I don´t understand.

-        I am sorry. I thought I could do this, but I can´t. Have a nice life.

She fell to the floor and sobbed. He closed the door behind him.

Written: May 21, 2020 ( Based on real facts)

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And now what?

A 77 -year- old man had an affair 10 years ago with a woman who at the time was in her 30s. From this relationship a healthy young boy was born. The elderly man had just left his family behind and moved to another state. The family he had left behind was in shock when they found out that the father in his late 60s had become a father again because they wondered would take care of the child if the father came to pass. In the family that he left behind the youngest child was in his late 20s. If the father came to pass, there was the mother so she would probably be the one to take care of the baby boy.

The reason he 77-year-old man had moved was still a mystery because he simply refused to talk about it and the family stopped questioning him although they never accepted what he had done. Especially his wife who got sick and almost died and his oldest daughter who looked up to him. Some of the people in their neighborhood spoke of one of his daughters’ being shot dead as she was having a good time with friends at a nearby bar. Others just said that he needed to have affairs and that was going to happen where he lived. But as time went by, people just took as part of life.

A few years went by and the mother was incapable of taking care of her child, for you see, she had three other children who had different fathers. She lost her mind one day and decided to hand over the boy to the father. He was now closer to 70. He had no clue how he would do that. He reached out to his first family; everyone turned their backs, except for his oldest daughter who gave him some tips and asked him to come spend some months with her and her husband and son.

The 77- year- old man tried to take care of his son the best he could but apparently, he was aging, losing his hearing and his eyesight was going bad. So, in the end, who was the father of whom? Was the elderly man taking care of the child or was the child taking care of the elderly man?

In 2019 he had an affair with his sister- in- law who at the time was 34 and from this rendezvous another baby boy was born. The elderly man was 76 at the time. The family he had left behind could not understand how a man at 76 was willing to become a father; he just said that it happened.

In 2020 the coronavirus appeared and one of its victims was this 34-year-old mother leaving behind the one-year-old baby. Since its grandmother had already too many grandchildren to take care of, she decided to distribute them to their worthy fathers and the 77-year-old man saw himself with a one-year-old and a 10-year-old. Now not only did the 10-year-old need to take care of the elderly father, but also of a one-year-old half-brother who in fact was his half-brother and cousin at the same time - poor baby!

And now what?

What is to come of these two young boys?

What will happen to them if this 77-year-old man passes away?

You might say they have a grandmother and an aunt, but these two people do not have any conditions, neither mentally nor financially, to take care of these children. If they wanted them, they would have kept them in the first place. And now what?

Written: May 20, 2020 (Based on true facts)

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The 16 - Year - Old

               Her hair was long dark and curly. Her eyes were bluer than the sky on a hot summer day. She was intelligent, a book worm and spoke at least two languages fluently. She lived with her mother in a poor part of town. Her father had passed away while he was doing some time in jail for a crime which she did not understand when told or did not want to know. One thing she knew was that she did not want that in her life – an outlaw husband, not that she was looking for one.

               Her dreams were big. She wanted to leave this neighborhood, find a good job which she loved and also make a decent salary.  A salary which would be enough for her to have a real nice apartment furnished with all the luxury she deserved.  She still needed to finish high school, however, she also studied har to do well on the college entry exams in two years’ time.

               Relatives, mainly her cousins, thought she had loose screw because she came from a poor family and the rich and the poor never mixed, although she was very pretty. Her cousins told her that she should just get used to the fact that her life wouldn´t change and perhaps the only way for her to move up in society would be to marry into another level. But marriage for her was out of the question. Besides, where would she find a boyfriend and/or future husband where she lived and where she studied? They all came from the same kind of household as she did.

               On her 16^th birthday her mother had given her a brand-new computer which would help her with her education. She really needed to absorb as much information as she could in order to make her dreams come true.

 Her mother also shared in using the same computer, so she knew all the passwords and kept a close eye on her daughter. After her husband had passed away, she feared that her daughter could fall into a trap and be taken away from her. She seemed to see her daughter ras a naïve teenager, who was gorgeous.

One day the mother noticed that her daughter had joined a dating website. Apparently, the message lit up as she was browsing through the web. Her heart sank. Her daughter hadn´t mentioned anything to her. The daughter had just mentioned a few days early that she was not into dating and that her studies came first and now this. She was going to bring it up at dinner time.

At the dinner table, the mother´s thought roamed in her head and to how she was going to approach the subject, because she knew that with teens either you could make them talk or clam up for life. She decided to come right out and tell the daughter what had happened.

At the same time, the daughter was trying to figure out a way to break the news to the mother that she was in love and had been chatting with a boy on the internet who wanted to meet her in person. Her mother had always been her best friend and she had to tell her.

They blurted out their news at the same time. Then the mother asked the daughter to repeat the story. The mother listened attentively and did not say a word until the daughter had finished telling her all the details of how they met and what he was like so on and so forth. When the daughter had finished, the mother took a deep breath and said that she agreed to the relationship as long as the daughter gave her the boy´s ID number so she could run a check at the police to see if the boy´s record was clean. You see, the mother had a friend who worked for the police would do this for her (not that he could, but he would).

Having agreed to the mother´s condition, the young girl called her boyfriend (by now she was calling him this) and asked him for his ID number, which he gave her. He then asked the reason she wanted it. She was an honest person, therefore she explained. He told her that he had done some time behind bars for robbing but that it was when he was younger (18) now he was more mature (21). He added that it had been part of a game which he and his friends were playing. No one got hurt, so it wasn´t all that bad.

Her heart broke into a million pieces. That very same night before going to bed, she told her mother that having him checked out would not be necessary because she had already broken up with him, blocked his number on her cell phone plus deleted the account for the dating website. The young girl also explained that she didn´t want a person like that in her life. She wanted a better life than her father had given her mother. She didn´t want a man who had broken the law.

The mother felt proud of her daughter and also sad that he had broken her heart. She had done a good job in raising such a strong and intelligent young lady. She went to bed and decided that to cheer up her daughter, she would wake up early and make her baby her favorite breakfast.

After a good night´s sleep, the mother got up bright and early and started preparing breakfast. Her daughter´s cell phone was on the kitchen counter and then it blinked several times and to her horror she read: Good morning my love. Did she fall for it?

Written: May 19, 2020

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If it's meant to be …

               He got dressed in his best suit; put on his most expensive cologne; got his pocket watch; ran out the door and  decided that he would pick up a rose at the flower shop on his way to his date with the love of his life.

The first time he had seen her was on the trolley on his way to work in the morning. They would exchange glances, smiles and finally after a few weeks, he gathered the courage to ask her out for coffee. She shyly accepted. He decided to take her to his favorite coffee shop which was just a couple of blocks from his home.

               It was a beautiful day so he decided to walk instead of taking the trolley after all he was early and he wanted to make a good impression so the walk would do him good because then he could rehearse in his mind what he was going to say.

               He arrived at the spot where they had settled to meet and waited and waited and waited. He checked his pocket watch several times and started thinking if he was at the right location. After having waited for two hours, he decided that he had waited enough.

               Frustrated, disappointed and sad he left the appointed location kicking some stones and staring at the rose; the red rose which to him meant I love you. He was about to turn the corner when he ran into a young lady. He had not seen her, so when they bumped into each other she fell to the ground.

               “Oh, I'm terribly sorry! Let me help you up.”

               “That's alright I was pretty distracted myself.”

               As he looked into her eyes something shook him. The sadness and the emptiness he was feeling was filled with hope and warmth.

               “ Please allow me to make this up to you. Would you like to have a cup of coffee?”

               “Certainly, that would be lovely.”

               There was a coffee shop nearby, so they walked there and when they sat down, he gave her the red rose.

               “How lovely! I'm sure that the person you intended to give this to must be very special.”

               He just smiled and said he hoped she liked it.

               Many years went by. They ended up getting married and having children. In the 1990s his wife got sick and passed away. He felt lonely.

               He had a very witty mind and decided that learning how to use a computer would be good for his brain. Sitting in front of the computer one day, his youngest daughter had told him that he could find people on the Internet, therefore, he decided to Google that first woman he intended to take out for coffee. He clearly remembered her name. He found her. He was 91 at the time and she was 81.

               They ended up meeting and talking about what happened that day. It looks like she was in a trolley accident and never made it to that encounter. Later when she got better her family moved to the West Coast. She also ended up marrying somebody else and having children and was now a widow. Being that they were in the Golden ages they had nothing to wait for, so they decided to live together. One lived on the East Coast and the other lived on the West Coast. They rearranged their lives and decided to give that romance a chance.

               As the saying goes: if it's meant to be, it will be.

written : May 18, 2020 ( Based on a true story)

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Depression and Anxiety

               Sadness, fear, heart beating accelerated. Just a few of the sensations that the body feels when you are depressed or anxious. Is there a way to separate these sensations?

               I am definitely not an expert on this topic, but as a simple human being, I have felt one or the other or both several times during these 53 years. You might think that because I am always smiling when you see me that I am always happy. Not true. There are some sad times and happy times, but they are mine and the people that I run into do not need to know whether I am sad or happy. However, those who know me know me well can tell.

               Many of you may know that nine years ago I simply stopped walking and it took me 8 months to have a normal life - normal in the eyes of others. What I mean is, people see me walking but they do not know how hard it is; how painful it is and sometimes how tiring it is. Science has not discovered what happened and have classified my case as a miracle even though scientists usually do not believe in miracles.

               Nonetheless, I do believe in miracles and I am very grateful to be able to walk even though it is painful. I also have to watch out so I don't trip and fall. With this experience I have learned to live life one day at a time and not think about tomorrow. For me, thinking about the future generates anxiety which eventually will lead to depression. Not knowing if the condition will worsen makes planning harder now than before. So, I tend not to think about tomorrow.

               I remember the first day that I took my walker for a walk and just crossing the street at a red light caused anxiety. With this my heart started pounding, my hands started sweating, I started to feel nauseous and dizzy. Then I was enwrapped in fear of what would happen if I fell in the middle of the street or on the sidewalk; who would help me; so on and so forth. All these emotions hit me at once, but I had to throw them away and focus on just getting across the street, which looked like the other side was a mile away.

 Later, I called my doctor to let him know what had happened and he mentioned that I had a panic attack. I remember breaking down and crying. If all those other sensations weren't bad, having a panic attack was the worst ever. I really thought I was going to die, though, all I did was just cross the street. Perhaps it's a symbol for getting on the other side; overcoming your fear. When you are facing hard times, you should fight and try to overcome whatever frightens you.

Mind you, when I stopped walking, I was filled with rage, fear, sadness, and confusion. I first thought how something so bad could be happening to ME. Left alone and stripped of everything in a hospital room waiting to be taken to the ICU, I sobbed and had a huge fight with God. I yelled and screamed and asked why. After this, there was silence and all I remember was saying in a loud voice: my life is in Your hands, may Your will be mine.

Here you might think that I believe that I was being punished, on the contrary, at this moment of silence a sense of peace filled my heart and I realized that I was being blessed. I was alive which is all that mattered, and I would take life one step at a time. So much so, that when people visited me after I was released from the ICU, they said that my energy level was high, and they felt good being around me. Call it whatever you want, I call it GRACE.

I always tell people that I walk by faith and not by sight. This means a lot to me. For this reason, when I wake up every morning, I am filled with gratitude despite the pain. I have a new opportunity to learn and make a difference.

               In these times of lockdown and fear of what is to come, depression and anxiety absorb people. Sometimes these people do not know what to do. It is scary. Reach out to your family and friends just to see how they are doing. Sometimes a hello makes a big difference and can chase your fear away.

What I have learned is when you are down and troubled take a leap of faith. Do not think about what tomorrow will bring, enjoy the day that you have today.

Written: May 17, 2020

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The City Awakens

As I lay in my bed

It is 6 AM, so the clock says.

The city starts to wake up stretching out.

First, we hear the birds chirping

Many of which have flown home.

Different species have come back from roaming.

At the same time, you can hear the neighbor upstairs burping.

It's still dark outside,

But slowly the sun begins to rise.

As I look out the window,

I do not see anybody walking in the streets.

Every minute that goes by

The sounds that belong to this busy city life start to screech.

The sound of the construction workers in the lot nearby

Slowly banging on their tools as if letting out a cry.

It seems like this gives other people the call to get up.

By 8 AM you already hear the cars racing,

The people talking and pacing,

Even some birds singing.

The city has awakened to go on with its life as usual.

As usual?

Not for the people who are responsible and stay at home.

Not for the people who have to leave their homes to fight.

Not for the people mourning.

Not for the people who have lost hope.

Not for the people who cannot see tomorrow.

Life has changed.

Lucky are those who can wake up and appreciate the unfolding of a new day.

Keep the faith.

Written : May 11, 2020

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