The Adjusted Normal, 19. New Normal Summer Classes
Summer is supposed to appear from today onward. I won't mind temperatures in the upper 20's/low 80's, though I hope they don't rise too far above 30º/86º. Just warm enough to know it's summer and not sit shivering in the early morning or late evening.
Classes have gotten off to a slow start. The first day, only the students of one hour appeared. The others didn't come because they didn't have a car available, or because they forgot. The second day, almost everyone scheduled, came. One afternoon student is yet to confirm which days he'll come as of next week. Just as long as some show up, I don't mind that much.
I pass a cloth soaked with alcohol over the table, the chairs, the pencils, the erasers, any book used, and the dictionary before the first class, between classes, and after the last class. The study is starting to smell like a hospital; of disinfectant. The window is slightly open. I wear a plastic screen in front of my face, which is quite tight on my forehead. When I take it off, my head feels relief. While it is a bit warm, it's not as hot as a mask. The biggest problem is the waviness of the plastic, which sometimes impedes perfect vision of what I'm looking at.
I suppose that is going to be the new normal for the rest of the summer classes, and once the fall classes begin. And, perhaps for the next year or two. The infections that sprung up about thirty kilometers away seem quite controlled. So far, only nine positives, and the quarantines are slowly being set free. More worrisome is the spot in the north of the province of Lugo, with fifty-nine infected as of yesterday. It seems the infections began in two or three bars of the town of Burela, which have since been closed. Over 500 people have been tested, and are confined to their houses. Most of those infected are asymptomatic, or just have light symptoms. Only four, I think, are in the hospital, though doing well. If we see ourselves locally in the maelstrom of an infection, we might be quarantined again, such as some areas in Germany.
I really don't understand how teachers came to their final decisions on grades this term. Everything was done online, with only a few teachers even giving virtual classes. Most of them sent exercises to do and email back. One English teacher gave her students links to the British Council, where they had to read explanations and do online exercises, copying them down to then scan and email her. But those exercises all have the answers. But, then, not every student is curious enough to start clicking to check the interstices of a web page, I suppose. No one I'm getting has failed, and I suppose recuperation exams at the beginning of September this year are going to have few students. Few, though, can be said to have solidly learned the material for this year, since just about everything they did online was review. Some teacher did give new material, but not everyone understood it. I have a bit of work ahead of me this summer.
As usual, there isn't much get-up-and-go among the young people. They've gotten up and gone to the beach in their mindsets, already. That will never change, pandemic or no pandemic. Even those who want to stay ahead of the game aren't really devoted to the books in summer. And those who don't really care one way or the other have their minds on other things that don't involve thinking. I can't really blame them.
It's up to me to be the bad ogre and give them some summer homework. Not too much, but, hey, next year is going to be a beauty doing catch-up and introducing new things. Might as well make the catch-up easier.
Life continues.
Classes have gotten off to a slow start. The first day, only the students of one hour appeared. The others didn't come because they didn't have a car available, or because they forgot. The second day, almost everyone scheduled, came. One afternoon student is yet to confirm which days he'll come as of next week. Just as long as some show up, I don't mind that much.
I pass a cloth soaked with alcohol over the table, the chairs, the pencils, the erasers, any book used, and the dictionary before the first class, between classes, and after the last class. The study is starting to smell like a hospital; of disinfectant. The window is slightly open. I wear a plastic screen in front of my face, which is quite tight on my forehead. When I take it off, my head feels relief. While it is a bit warm, it's not as hot as a mask. The biggest problem is the waviness of the plastic, which sometimes impedes perfect vision of what I'm looking at.
I suppose that is going to be the new normal for the rest of the summer classes, and once the fall classes begin. And, perhaps for the next year or two. The infections that sprung up about thirty kilometers away seem quite controlled. So far, only nine positives, and the quarantines are slowly being set free. More worrisome is the spot in the north of the province of Lugo, with fifty-nine infected as of yesterday. It seems the infections began in two or three bars of the town of Burela, which have since been closed. Over 500 people have been tested, and are confined to their houses. Most of those infected are asymptomatic, or just have light symptoms. Only four, I think, are in the hospital, though doing well. If we see ourselves locally in the maelstrom of an infection, we might be quarantined again, such as some areas in Germany.
I really don't understand how teachers came to their final decisions on grades this term. Everything was done online, with only a few teachers even giving virtual classes. Most of them sent exercises to do and email back. One English teacher gave her students links to the British Council, where they had to read explanations and do online exercises, copying them down to then scan and email her. But those exercises all have the answers. But, then, not every student is curious enough to start clicking to check the interstices of a web page, I suppose. No one I'm getting has failed, and I suppose recuperation exams at the beginning of September this year are going to have few students. Few, though, can be said to have solidly learned the material for this year, since just about everything they did online was review. Some teacher did give new material, but not everyone understood it. I have a bit of work ahead of me this summer.
As usual, there isn't much get-up-and-go among the young people. They've gotten up and gone to the beach in their mindsets, already. That will never change, pandemic or no pandemic. Even those who want to stay ahead of the game aren't really devoted to the books in summer. And those who don't really care one way or the other have their minds on other things that don't involve thinking. I can't really blame them.
It's up to me to be the bad ogre and give them some summer homework. Not too much, but, hey, next year is going to be a beauty doing catch-up and introducing new things. Might as well make the catch-up easier.
Life continues.
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