COVID-19 Working...? Or parenting? Or working?
It seems every day brings a fresh limitation in the name of public health. Every day I think I've adjusted and then suddenly, something new is imposed and the adjustment starts all over again.
Faculty were told to prepare for online teaching while students enjoyed an extended spring break.Two people in my dept didn't even know how to post a syllabus in the learning management system (LMS). Of them, one has a 10 yr old daughter approaching her second month of hospitalization for something related to her digestive system. It's life-threatening in that she can't hold food or water down so if she went home they would have no way to feed her. She was finally discharged this week and everyone around her has to be uber careful because her immune system is so compromised. At least COVID-19 leveled the playing field a bit and everyone is supposed to stay away from each other, not just her.
In order to help these colleagues and my department as a whole, as chair I had to assess our strengths and weaknesses, wrangle an adjunct who is notoriously unresponsive to communication, and send a fuck-ton of emails. On Mon I was supposed to be on campus for a meeting of chairs, deans and Provost but couldn't be there in person because M's job was on the brink of passing a new policy forbidding employees to work in high-risk zones. My job is located in one. If I went and the policy went into effect there was a very real chance he would have to be separated from the kids and I (schools were closing-extra pressure...er...fun there...) would be alone with the kids. I joined remotely and told my dept what they could expect from me. On Wed I think I exchanged 30 or 40 emails with one colleague to help train them on the use of Canvas, our course management system. On Thurs I spent almost 2 hrs on Skype with another doing the same thing, and another hour or so behind the scenes. Plus another fuck-ton of emails on numerous other random things.
Needless to say, the boundaries between work and home life were non-existent. I quickly got Mon organized in the LMS for my own classes.
On Wed I was so consumed by everything that needed to be done that I FORGOT TO EAT BREAKFAST. That NEVER happens! I emailed my dept to explain my new availability. I asked two people with stronger tech skills to work with Dr. Wed if she had remaining questions on the LMS. They readily agreed so I could focus on Dr. SickChild on Thurs.
On Fri I finally had the chance to get to my own classes so students had something beyond the first day to work with. I developed a week of online work for all 3 classes. I'm pretty satisfied actually, with the work I designed (check my teaching blog, Francophone-itude, for info about them). I was deeply satisfied by the organization, creativity, and communication demanded by the situation (more on that here too). But how many students are actually out there, with time, computers, and internet access to actually do the work? Sigh.
Somehow I managed to do the following self-care things:
But on Friday night I mentally collapsed. As I texted to a trio of grounded, strong women friends: "I'm finally crying about it all tonight. After all week of being strong and fierce for my students, some of whom are stranded in Europe and others who don't have access to technology and for my 2 dept colleagues who didn't know anything about the LMS until Wed and the colleague with the critically ill child and I don't get to see my favorite people and I didn't get to see A and K at our conference and starting Mon I have to be a stay at home mom and an online instructor and I'm drowning and my husband doesn't get it and emails, texts and phone calls don't cut it. Anyone have something uplifting or funny 'cause I could really use it."
Meanwhile, my oldest was miserable at daycare Mon, Tues and Wed as the only school age girl. I asked her to make it one more day, Wed, and then she could stay home Thurs and Fri. It worked out surprisingly well to accomplish my own work things and coach her through some online learning. But starting Mon both kids will be home with me and K is a lot less self-sufficient. She isn't even literate!! And I feel like a shitty parent when it isn't the apocalypse. I can be a reasonably good 2nd grade teacher, college professor and parent to my 8 yr old. But can I be a Pre-K teacher, prof and parent to my 4.5 yr old??? It's a pain in the ass feeding them breakfast and dinner every night. Now I gotta listen to their bitching at lunch too?! 😖
But here's what I can celebrate.
J stay home day 1:
Guessing game by photo/text with neighbor girl
Making egg sandwiches for us for lunch
Drawing on the mirror-so subversive!
Thank goddess for a wealth of online kids videos
Thank goddess for coffee!!!!
J stay home day 2:
Walk by lake, using in FREN 102 next week
Learning sensitivity training from a terrible
Geology-sorting rocks from
Listening to Anne of Green Gables
Faculty were told to prepare for online teaching while students enjoyed an extended spring break.Two people in my dept didn't even know how to post a syllabus in the learning management system (LMS). Of them, one has a 10 yr old daughter approaching her second month of hospitalization for something related to her digestive system. It's life-threatening in that she can't hold food or water down so if she went home they would have no way to feed her. She was finally discharged this week and everyone around her has to be uber careful because her immune system is so compromised. At least COVID-19 leveled the playing field a bit and everyone is supposed to stay away from each other, not just her.
In order to help these colleagues and my department as a whole, as chair I had to assess our strengths and weaknesses, wrangle an adjunct who is notoriously unresponsive to communication, and send a fuck-ton of emails. On Mon I was supposed to be on campus for a meeting of chairs, deans and Provost but couldn't be there in person because M's job was on the brink of passing a new policy forbidding employees to work in high-risk zones. My job is located in one. If I went and the policy went into effect there was a very real chance he would have to be separated from the kids and I (schools were closing-extra pressure...er...fun there...) would be alone with the kids. I joined remotely and told my dept what they could expect from me. On Wed I think I exchanged 30 or 40 emails with one colleague to help train them on the use of Canvas, our course management system. On Thurs I spent almost 2 hrs on Skype with another doing the same thing, and another hour or so behind the scenes. Plus another fuck-ton of emails on numerous other random things.
Needless to say, the boundaries between work and home life were non-existent. I quickly got Mon organized in the LMS for my own classes.
On Wed I was so consumed by everything that needed to be done that I FORGOT TO EAT BREAKFAST. That NEVER happens! I emailed my dept to explain my new availability. I asked two people with stronger tech skills to work with Dr. Wed if she had remaining questions on the LMS. They readily agreed so I could focus on Dr. SickChild on Thurs.
On Fri I finally had the chance to get to my own classes so students had something beyond the first day to work with. I developed a week of online work for all 3 classes. I'm pretty satisfied actually, with the work I designed (check my teaching blog, Francophone-itude, for info about them). I was deeply satisfied by the organization, creativity, and communication demanded by the situation (more on that here too). But how many students are actually out there, with time, computers, and internet access to actually do the work? Sigh.
Somehow I managed to do the following self-care things:
- get in a workout each morning (Thurs all I could handle was yoga in pajamas while listening to Tori Amos, an old friend, but that was lovely)
- on Thurs I stopped checking Facebook
- on Thurs I had a lovely phone chat with my best local friend, a feminist mom, over a glass of wine
- I got outside for a short walk each afternoon.
And I have an awesome assortment of mugs
Meanwhile, my oldest was miserable at daycare Mon, Tues and Wed as the only school age girl. I asked her to make it one more day, Wed, and then she could stay home Thurs and Fri. It worked out surprisingly well to accomplish my own work things and coach her through some online learning. But starting Mon both kids will be home with me and K is a lot less self-sufficient. She isn't even literate!! And I feel like a shitty parent when it isn't the apocalypse. I can be a reasonably good 2nd grade teacher, college professor and parent to my 8 yr old. But can I be a Pre-K teacher, prof and parent to my 4.5 yr old??? It's a pain in the ass feeding them breakfast and dinner every night. Now I gotta listen to their bitching at lunch too?! 😖
But here's what I can celebrate.
J stay home day 1:
Guessing game by photo/text with neighbor girl
Making egg sandwiches for us for lunch 
Drawing on the mirror-so subversive! 
Thank goddess for a wealth of online kids videos
Thank goddess for coffee!!!! 
Walk by lake, using in FREN 102 next week 
Learning sensitivity training from a terrible
HR mandated source 😬
Geology-sorting rocks from
Cave of the Mounds
Listening to Anne of Green Gables
and taking notes. Future lit professor?
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