The Rona Diaries: Week Five
Candace:
I woke up yesterday morning in a good mood. I started a new book, answered some emails from a former co-worker, and generally felt a sense of gratitude for the home that I have to live in. I went downstairs to make breakfast and happened to turn on the local news. Usually I am fixated on MSNBC, but I stopped making my coffee long enough to listen to Mayor DeBlasio. I think that DeBlasio is generally a well intentioned person who makes principled decisions, but unfortunately those decisions have alienated the police department and lead to a decline in the quality of life in the city. Before COVID-19, my mother and I often talked about how New York was beginning to feel like the 90's again with the drug addicts in Times Square, crime in the subways, fake kidnappings, and murders in the park. DeBlasio's run for President was a HUGE misstep, but I think that he has shown leadership during this crisis. After all, he was passionately calling for a 'Shelter in Place' order while Cuomo was still trying to find the right language for it.
As I listened to DeBlasio announce that schools would be closed for the rest of the year I felt tremendous sadness. Although, I knew that this was coming, I still dreaded having to tell Chloe. I flashed back to about to a month ago when I was in my classroom questioning whether I was being paranoid by asking my 8th graders to wipe down their desks and phones with Clorox when they came back from lunch. I remember my 7th graders asking if I thought that schools would close before Spring Break and sincerely telling them "no."
Fast forward an hour or so and Governor Cuomo conducted his own press conference saying that DeBlasio didn't have the authority to close schools! He asserted that the decision has to be made in concert with leaders from the rest of the state as well as from the surrounding states of New Jersey and Connecticut. The Governor was trying to apply the same logic to re-opening schools as he did to shutting the city down: rules enacted in one place should be enacted in neighboring places in order to avoid people moving to avoid the rule (and potentially spreading the virus). However, this logic does not apply when it comes to schools. There is little risk of New York City public school children escaping to Connecticut to enroll in school. Furthermore, the New York City school system is unique because of the number of people who rely on mass transit to get to school and would potentially be exposed to the virus on subways and buses.
I have to admit that my love for Cuomo is waning. The beginning of the end was when I started to pay attention to the way that he answered questions about COVID and incarcerated people. Our usually empathic and articulate Governor was cold and abrupt. I'm not saying that I believe that jails and prisons should be emptied, but there seemed to be no willingness to grapple with the complexity of the issue.
It's hard to know when to feel hopeful. The number of hospitalizations in New York is down but the number of deaths is increasing. There is widespread acknowledgment that the virus is disporportionately impacting blacks and Latinos, and this has been motivation for me to make health a priority and get back to eating a low carb diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables. I feel less anxious overall and ready to begin my third week of teaching online.
Chloe:
Sadly, it has been confirmed that schools are going to be closed for the rest of the year, which is one of the things that I hoped wouldn't happen. Even though we won't be going back to school, I still hope I get to enjoy the summer and be able to carry out the things I planned with my friends. Some things I planned were on Tuesdays Zahir, Nathalie, and I would go to the pool together at Riverbank. And other days, we would either go shopping, to the park or to the movies. Unfortunately, that probably won't happen because people won't stay inside and the virus keeps spreading. The reason why I usually refuse whenever my mother wants to go on walks is because I get worried. I usually think either me or her might get the virus and then the rest of my family will too and that's something that I don't want to happen.
I woke up yesterday morning in a good mood. I started a new book, answered some emails from a former co-worker, and generally felt a sense of gratitude for the home that I have to live in. I went downstairs to make breakfast and happened to turn on the local news. Usually I am fixated on MSNBC, but I stopped making my coffee long enough to listen to Mayor DeBlasio. I think that DeBlasio is generally a well intentioned person who makes principled decisions, but unfortunately those decisions have alienated the police department and lead to a decline in the quality of life in the city. Before COVID-19, my mother and I often talked about how New York was beginning to feel like the 90's again with the drug addicts in Times Square, crime in the subways, fake kidnappings, and murders in the park. DeBlasio's run for President was a HUGE misstep, but I think that he has shown leadership during this crisis. After all, he was passionately calling for a 'Shelter in Place' order while Cuomo was still trying to find the right language for it.
As I listened to DeBlasio announce that schools would be closed for the rest of the year I felt tremendous sadness. Although, I knew that this was coming, I still dreaded having to tell Chloe. I flashed back to about to a month ago when I was in my classroom questioning whether I was being paranoid by asking my 8th graders to wipe down their desks and phones with Clorox when they came back from lunch. I remember my 7th graders asking if I thought that schools would close before Spring Break and sincerely telling them "no."
Fast forward an hour or so and Governor Cuomo conducted his own press conference saying that DeBlasio didn't have the authority to close schools! He asserted that the decision has to be made in concert with leaders from the rest of the state as well as from the surrounding states of New Jersey and Connecticut. The Governor was trying to apply the same logic to re-opening schools as he did to shutting the city down: rules enacted in one place should be enacted in neighboring places in order to avoid people moving to avoid the rule (and potentially spreading the virus). However, this logic does not apply when it comes to schools. There is little risk of New York City public school children escaping to Connecticut to enroll in school. Furthermore, the New York City school system is unique because of the number of people who rely on mass transit to get to school and would potentially be exposed to the virus on subways and buses.
I have to admit that my love for Cuomo is waning. The beginning of the end was when I started to pay attention to the way that he answered questions about COVID and incarcerated people. Our usually empathic and articulate Governor was cold and abrupt. I'm not saying that I believe that jails and prisons should be emptied, but there seemed to be no willingness to grapple with the complexity of the issue.
It's hard to know when to feel hopeful. The number of hospitalizations in New York is down but the number of deaths is increasing. There is widespread acknowledgment that the virus is disporportionately impacting blacks and Latinos, and this has been motivation for me to make health a priority and get back to eating a low carb diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables. I feel less anxious overall and ready to begin my third week of teaching online.
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| The Great Outdoors |
Sadly, it has been confirmed that schools are going to be closed for the rest of the year, which is one of the things that I hoped wouldn't happen. Even though we won't be going back to school, I still hope I get to enjoy the summer and be able to carry out the things I planned with my friends. Some things I planned were on Tuesdays Zahir, Nathalie, and I would go to the pool together at Riverbank. And other days, we would either go shopping, to the park or to the movies. Unfortunately, that probably won't happen because people won't stay inside and the virus keeps spreading. The reason why I usually refuse whenever my mother wants to go on walks is because I get worried. I usually think either me or her might get the virus and then the rest of my family will too and that's something that I don't want to happen.
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