Do I look as scared as I feel?
In case you can't tell, this is I, on my way to teach my hybrid classes at SLCC this lovely fall semester. After moving fully online last spring and remaining online through summer semester, SLCC decided to try a hybrid format this fall. Students come once a week for just 40 minutes, so I never have more than six in the classroom at any one time. Yes, it's certainly safer than in normal times when I have 24 at once, but still, I'm scared. I haven't spent 40 minutes inside a building (other than my house) with other people in six months!
My classes at UVU are still fully online, and for that I am grateful. But this past week, I put on this lovely getup and headed to SLCC to teach my hybrids. The five to six students in each session sat distanced, both from me and from each other. They stayed glued to their seats, not allowed to move around the room. They kept their masks on. They complied willingly with all the requirements. Again, I'm grateful.
As for me, let's just say that this mask/shield deal isn't ideal for teaching, and adding reading glasses doesn't help. I wear glasses only for close-up work, so I put them on and take them off over and over throughout my classes. Reaching under the shield to do that is about as awkward as you can imagine. Then, the second I put them on, they fog up so badly that I can't see anything anyway.
Oh, and let's not forget that my claustrophobia kicks in after about 20 minutes wearing this stuff, so I have to remind myself to breathe s-l-o-w-l-y. My poor, poor students!
Do I hope someone in my class tests positive for the virus, so we all go home (online) for two weeks? Of course not! Do I hope we have a breakout on campus sufficient to send everyone home? No. Instead, I hope that in time I adjust to the mask and shield, the foggy glasses, and the claustrophobia.
And I have more respect than I can tell you for healthcare workers on the front line, who wear this stuff for 12-hour shifts. Heroes they are.
No comments:
Post a Comment