Thoughts on Covid-19 in a School Setting

Working in a school, the topic probably got brought up a million times today. Teachers walked around from staff member to staff member, wondering and chatting about the possibility of being part of the group of states who have been put under an emergency and had their school closed due to the Coronavirus outbreak. 

It was almost fun and exciting, kind of like the wave of energy that teachers and kids get right before a big snow day or an emergency early dismissal. It was kind of infectious, no pun intended. I too got excited! But then the "emergency side" of this situation set in. We were told to prep two weeks worth of work that could be done independently, and send it home with our students within the next two days. Instantly, every printer in the building was working at full blast, and when I left today, they were still going off. 

Now, everyone's panicking. Teachers are printing, asking questions to administration, and students are slowly picking up on that energy. Here's the kicker though, no one in our school has even been diagnosed with it. 

On my lunch, scrolling on Facebook, I found this post that a friend had shared. It really put into perspective how our attitudes should be during this time. It actually calmed me down, and helped me realize that although Covid-19 is something to be aware of, it's also a time to be the example in the classroom. Instead of feeding into the hysteria, it's important to remind students and yourself to practice good hygiene, wash hands as much as possible, and to practice good cleaning habits to make sure we're protecting ourselves, because really, that's the only part of this situation that we can control, so why not try our best to create a better outcome?