CORONAVIRUS SURVIVAL Day 16
I’m just really not that interesting. I mean, right, we all have to realize it sometime. For me it was getting on Facebook and looking at all the posts that seemed even more self-absorbed than usual then looking at last weeks blog posts and realizing, hmmm, am I making the world a better place or not so much?
Plus, this is a busy time. No time to pontificate when there are things to do and there is plenty to do, you just have to prioritize.
- Life. Are you safe? Sheltering in place? Taking care of yourself and others? This is the first priority.
- Work. If you are lucky enough to still have a job, take it seriously. It’s easy to slack in a crisis but the work that needs to be done really needs to be done. I won’t get into details about my learning curve for Distance Learning but let’s just say when I return to the classroom I will have learned much more than the students. And if you are not working, find a place to help-La Luz, Vintage House, Redwood Empire, Sonoma Education Foundation, we are all in this together.
- Food. Get innovative, cook with your kids, break out the old crock-pot and be thankful for what you have. If you can help others, this Friday April 3 from 9-4 you can drop off food donations in the plaza and the SVUSD student meal distribution continues weekdays from 11-1 at Altamira, Adele and Sassarini.
- Fun. It seems like so long ago that we were meeting at the Swiss for drinks and the Sebastiani for a movie and hanging in the Plaza and remember the beach? It will all come back but for now we have to shelter in place because this situation is quite simply life or death. If we ignore precautions people die, if we follow them fewer people die. It’s that simple.
- Fun part two. It’s still possible to find ways to have fun. Calling, texting, emailing, zooming, Facebook messaging friends; it’s all good and human connection is vital. We all love that endorphin hit when the message comes through. TV, videos, blogging, vlogging, painting, drawing, never before have there been more people trying to keep you entertained in the virtual world. Here’s how I explained it to my students last week:
Coronavirus Distance Learning 101
Well, here we are, or rather here we are not. It’s the beginning of a great adventure and I hope you are as optimistic as I am that this will turn into something that is both educational and entertaining.
Hopefully, you have figured out by now that the key to keeping your sanity is to design and keep a schedule. A little exercise, a little video time (Whaaaatttttt-is this the same Walt that bitches 24/7 about our excessive phone use?!?!), a little reading, a little zooming with friends, a lot of schoolwork, a little cooking with family, you know what keeps your balance (Homeostasis).
But if you do get bored remember that only boring people get bored so here is a list to keep you entertained:
-Californiacareerzone.com: Your future is calling, time to answer.
-Documentaries and TED talks: Learn stuff while staring at that box.
-SVMA or Skillshare or Google art classes on line. Or go with my man Bob Ross cause he’s the boss.
-Novels-get them from friends or go raid those little free libraries around town.
-Journaling and blogging and vlogging. Yes, you can do it, yes your life is interesting enough, and if it’s not, make something up, how do you think movies get made?
I am available every day from 12-1 on some platform which will be explained by someone way more tech savvy than me, or I’m always available by email (wwilliams@sonomaschools.org) or call or text.
Life starts when you get out of your comfort zone. You can spend this time being entertained or learning, guess which one I’m hoping you choose.
Stay safe, stay sane.
-WW
And are you still playing for team HATE? Still looking at the news and thinking about all the bad things, how you can criticize or one up or make fun of people in this time of crisis? Well, stop now because we need you on team LOVE and the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Did you hear about the certain community member who wanted to shut down a food distribution because the benefactors had different political views? No time for that noise, the virus is an equal opportunity killer and we are all in this together. Go put flowers or a care package on someone’s doorstep, pick up garbage or clean graffiti in your neighborhood, stay healthy and help.
Make the world a better place.
Walt Williams is in it for the money, that and the prestige that goes with 22 years of teaching in California high schools (he’s not the smartest tool in the shed). He firmly believes in more standardized testing and that fitting all students into the same box is really the answer. He strongly supports fracking and that climate change is a fantasy made up by hippie liberals, also that the military needs more funding and that schools should just stop whining.