Covid19 Positive

Covid 19

I have a full house right now because of Covid 19. All of my children except for Abbie returned home when Covid hit. My household has my husband and me, three adult “children” and their animals, two dogs, two cats, two guinea pigs and a partridge in a pear tree!

I know Covid has many tragic stories, and I have personally lost special people to Covid. However, Covid has brought some positive things to my life and to society.

1. Relationships: Relationships with my family have grown stronger. I would never have had the chance to eat dinner together every night, debate, talk, visit, and play euchre on a regular basis without this pandemic. Our euchre tournaments are reminiscent of my own college days. It is wonderful to share this tradition with my children while they are "in" college. My children have taught their friends and we've gotten to the point of having to "rotate-in".

2. Technology: Before Covid 19 a tremendous disparity between the have’s and the have not’s existed across the country in our school districts. For example, in Cleveland only 40% of the students had access to Wi-Fi and devices. To complete assignments, students would have to go to McDonalds to access Wi-Fi or work on a bench outside an establishment for connectivity. Now, all school districts across the country have devices and access. What we do with that access is the big question now.

3. Parents: Despite being isolated for over a year now, Zoom has brought my family members who live far away and me closer. I see that with so many other families that out of necessity, many people scared of technology have left their comfort zones and started Zooming. Now I see senior citizens like my mother experiencing online classes, church services, Zumba on Zoom, and other access that makes them feel less isolated. I see this practice continuing as it has opened up a whole new world for so many.

4. Education: The pandemic has provided innovation and access to education no one could have dreamed of. Now anyone can take courses from universities all over the world free of charge. Companies like Coursera (www.coursera.com) and Khan Academy (www.Khanacademhy.org) provide exceptional online courses and certification programs that build peoples’ skills for better job opportunities or simply enrichment.

It is easy to complain about how hard it’s been. It HAS been hard, and my heart breaks for our children and our seniors who have lost a year of life due to Covid. However, there has been some good that has come from it. I want to focus on the good and move forward with the positives that have come from Covid. I will cherish this time I’ve had with my family that I never would have had. I also want to see schools leverage the technology that is now in the hands of every student. We must be diligent and purposeful about using the technology to enhance and enrich teaching and learning. We can, and we will.