School and COVID-19
Okay. This is a rant, I have no advice for others.
So, most schools in countries are closing or closed because of quarantine. This includes my school here in the states, which as of today is completely closed. Seniors and graduate students were expected to have an "intensive making period" at the end of our extended spring break. That has been taken away so are we not gonna graduate?? We have already transitioned to a pass/fail system but we have studio work. I have rented film equipment from the school. I know I can turn it in when this is all over but what if it isn't over until summer? How are studio classes that require physically handling equipment going to operate in an online format? The whole point of studios (or labs depending on your school) is hands-on learning.
I just... don't know what is going to happen, no one does and it's scarier than I thought. I underestimated this. Seniors who were given until the 28th to leave campus now have until the 21st. Residence halls are closing but some services are remaining open like the health center. I don't even live on campus and my anxiety and frustration for them is through the roof. Students who are international have just been asked to depart. Depart WHERE?? Potentially go back to countries where the virus is worse? There has been a travel ban placed for certain areas! Where are they gonna depart to? Like for real? I'm so grateful that I chose to live at home another semester because this sounds like an absolute nightmare. I understand the school has never been in this position before.. but it feels like we are being given alarming information by the school officials when those same officials don't have the solutions yet. How about give us the info when you have solutions!
Where are students going to go? What is going to be done about graduation if this continues through April? What if I'm just panicking for no reason and this all blows over? Ugh. I hate quarantine. At first I was like, "yay a longer spring break and more time to work on homework", "yay my social anxiety doesn't have to flare up because I don't have to leave the house". I can't even think about what I need to do for homework. What am I gonna do for therapy? Do I go, or do I show up? Only one member of our school's community has been tested, results unknown, and we're told the campus is still safe. One case in our campus' city is positive. I keep checking myself for a fever every few minutes. It's a compulsion that is just getting worse. And hey what are other students who have mental health issues going to do if they don't have ways to come back and forth to our health center?
@Lexloveslife
Edited: are we not going to have a commencement ceremony? I'm sure we will still graduate on time, especially myself as I'm graduating in the fall. But others graduating in the spring... will they still get to walk? Show their work at our college's graduation show? So many questions that I'm sure even the officials are scrambling to figure out.
I get where you're coming from. My school here in Canada is closed until September. My brother might not be able to walk the stage.
@Lexloveslife it's okay to be anxious and it is a time of uncertainty; even in the midst of this, you are kind to think of the other students that also face difficutlies in times like these. what helps me in times like this where anxiety rushes through my head, is to think what can I do? it's not easy to do and my thoughts get the best of me, but if you are concerned about the students or your own therapy, it's okay to reach out, to your school students or your therapist. offer to help another person with anxiety and you will see you are not alone; times like these are humbling and while difficult can teach us a lot about ourselves and others. I was sent these words which gave me comfort and I hope they do the same for you:
" Life on planet Earth has, more often than not, been a vale of tears, where people forged meaning and found hope amidst dire situations. I am reminded of the words of C.S. Lewis who, at the dawn of the nuclear age, cautioned people not to fixate on the threats posed by the Cold War. These words ring with some relevance today if we replace atomic bomb with coronavirus.
In one way, we think a great deal too much of the atomic bomb. How are we to live in an atomic age? I am tempted to reply: Why, as you would have lived in the 16th century when the plague visited London almost every year, or as you would have lived in a Viking age when raiders from Scandinavia might land and cut your throat any night; or indeed, as you are already living in an age of cancer, an age of syphilis, an age of paralysis, an age of air raids, an age of railway accidents, an age of motor accidents.
In other words, do not let us begin by exaggerating the novelty of our situation. … The first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things – praying, working, teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing the children… not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They may break our bodies (a microbe can do that) but they need not dominate our minds. [3]"
@Lexloveslife
i know right my school is switching to online and I have 2 labs not to metion I am taking physics. it is hard enough to understand in class let alone online. I need to do good in this class to get into vet school. so I feel you and think the schools should have reacted better as well.
