Most my seventh graders are returning to school full time on Monday. I will still have to have a Google Meet running during class because I will still have twenty students who will remain fully remote students. This is my third first day of school this year. I am glad that the majority of them are coming back; I have students coming in whom I've not yet met face-to-face, so it will be nice to finally meet them. I think that it will give them a sense of much needed normalcy. However, I have concerns about the health and safety issues. Thirty kids in a class is a lot in a normal year. During a pandemic, thirty kids in one room is overwhelming. The buses, hallways, and the cafeterias will be really crowded. We have about one thousand kids in our building. There is no way to put six feet between a thousand kids in the hallway. It seems that social distancing has ...
“The Good Old Days” Sometimes I remember The good old days Sharing stories late at night With my sister Each in our own twin bed Snuggled deep in our blankets Hers yellow, mine pink We’d giggle in the darkness Surrounded by the silence Of the house, warm and cozy. We’d touch hands In the empty space Between our beds. I still can’t imagine Anything better than that. Inspired by Ralph Fletcher's poem
My dad walked to the mailbox and back today. This may seem unremarkable, but in actuality, this is a milestone. My dad, a Vietnam Veteran, has severe health issues due to his unknowingly being doused with Agent Orange during his year-long tour in Vietnam in 1968. He's a cancer survivor in end-stage renal failure whose heart functions at only 25%. He's had several heart attacks, nine stents placed in his heart, and two in his leg. One day in the beginning of December, he mentioned that he wasn't feeling well, and he didn't look too good. His face was gray. I had to run an errand, but I wasn't comfortable leaving him alone. He insisted that I go, that he was fine. When I came back, he was slumped down in his recliner, gasping for breath. "Call 911,” he rasped, his hand clutching his chest. The dispatcher directed me to get an aspirin as we waited for the ambulance. He was so weak that he could...
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