goalscrounger
Moderator
Posted this on the old board last night, but thought I'd share here......
I am 700 miles from my wife and kids and 4000 miles away from parents, family and friends. I am a non-resident alien so if I have to return to the Teesside for any reason, I will not be allowed back "home" into the United States. From Tuesday I expect to be pretty much just living and working alone in my apartment 24/7 and I suspect all internal flights will soon cease, effectively cutting me off from my family completely.
I had to close my school to students on Friday. After a day in the building next Monday to transition to distance learning, I think I am going to have to close the school fully so that I can protect my staff (most of whom are also non-resident aliens from the UK) the best I can. We will then deliver our lessons from our homes.
I have learned from our schools in China and Vietnam that the social isolation of delivering e-learning from home is very challenging after a couple of weeks and that staff find it easier if they still come to school to do this. I feel the research into this insidious virus has moved on since then and that it would be wrong to ask them to do this (even if it were for their the good of their own mental health).
I feel very detached and alone here for the first time since I began working internationally in 2016. I am responsible for 700 students and over 100 staff and there is no playbook to refer to here (in fact the rule book for society as a whole has gone out of the window over the last few weeks).
On the plus side, I've got plenty of beer, books and a PS4 in the apartment so maybe I'll actually find time to do some reading and gaming for once. I may even get round to recording another Mick's Tape podcast. I live right in the middle of downtown Chicago, so I am lucky in a way that I can get out for a walk or run along the shores of Lake Michigan without too much risk of close proximity too (the city is very quiet all of a sudden).
Interesting times. Good luck everyone. I'm glad this board (and the new one) are here!!
I am 700 miles from my wife and kids and 4000 miles away from parents, family and friends. I am a non-resident alien so if I have to return to the Teesside for any reason, I will not be allowed back "home" into the United States. From Tuesday I expect to be pretty much just living and working alone in my apartment 24/7 and I suspect all internal flights will soon cease, effectively cutting me off from my family completely.
I had to close my school to students on Friday. After a day in the building next Monday to transition to distance learning, I think I am going to have to close the school fully so that I can protect my staff (most of whom are also non-resident aliens from the UK) the best I can. We will then deliver our lessons from our homes.
I have learned from our schools in China and Vietnam that the social isolation of delivering e-learning from home is very challenging after a couple of weeks and that staff find it easier if they still come to school to do this. I feel the research into this insidious virus has moved on since then and that it would be wrong to ask them to do this (even if it were for their the good of their own mental health).
I feel very detached and alone here for the first time since I began working internationally in 2016. I am responsible for 700 students and over 100 staff and there is no playbook to refer to here (in fact the rule book for society as a whole has gone out of the window over the last few weeks).
On the plus side, I've got plenty of beer, books and a PS4 in the apartment so maybe I'll actually find time to do some reading and gaming for once. I may even get round to recording another Mick's Tape podcast. I live right in the middle of downtown Chicago, so I am lucky in a way that I can get out for a walk or run along the shores of Lake Michigan without too much risk of close proximity too (the city is very quiet all of a sudden).
Interesting times. Good luck everyone. I'm glad this board (and the new one) are here!!
