The One Room Schoolhouse Covid19 edition

The Boston & Maine Connection – One Room Schoolhouse Covid19 edition

So, how are you? How are you really doing? For many of us, this is no longer just trite throwaway greeting but a rather serious question in a time of a globe-trotting pandemic.

I find it heartening to see the number of people and organizations on a local level reaching out to help each other.  I will ignore the juvenile behavior demonstrated by too many in supposed leadership positions of government & politics and I wish the old school media would choose to ignore them just as you might be wanting to. Don’t believe everything on broadcast TV and please don’t drink bleach.

The old school media tends toward sensationalism – covering the worst behaviors and the out of the ordinary super successes that seem to elude 90% of us.  I have re-started my video interview series #communicast.  It’s a community focused broadcast, sharing the great things good people are doing while highlighting the creative and effective actions real leaders are taking during these extraordinary times. Not everybody can or wants to be famous. While old school news is about headlines, communicast is about showcasing people who lead by example and are making a positive difference in our communities every day.  (Find it on Youtube or go directly to https://bit.ly/keithspirocommunicast 

With much of the global population under some degree of quarantine, we are re-learning old skills and returning to old customs. The telephone has regained a great degree of importance as has the need for clear communication skills.  Education has moved out of the classroom and into our living rooms.  My world feels like it has been transformed into a modern version of the one room schoolhouse with everything happening in one shared space. There is suddenly competition for laptop computers and the smartphone gets passed around an awful lot.  I have been a work from home type for more than a decade but I have never before seen a dozen five year olds on a Zoom call.  I still shake my head in disbelief when I overhear some of the conversations.  But to be fair, kids are learning quickly how to use technology and to communicate their needs. Fewer tantrums and meltdowns seem to be occurring in the adults. To keep the peace, they’ve put me in charge of science classes, business enrichment and snack time/recess. But I do get several prep periods where I sneak off behind closed doors to do my so-called adult work. How many of us have learned that teachers are underpaid and their work underappreciated? Not me anymore.

We have built seedling cold-frames, planted seeds, gone on a bear hunt and some science discovery adventures in our kitchen. We’ve collectively learned a whole lot about setting tables and planning and cooking for family meals which are always taken together. Quite frankly, there is nowhere else to go and that’s not exactly a bad thing. Family together time has returned big-time along with a new appreciation for respecting each other’s space and needs.

We learn about arrays in math – as rows and columns of “battle bombs” that erupt into real crunched up paper ball battles.  Want to learn how to juggle using those single use plastic bags that are making a comeback? There’s a video for that.  Come meet Mr. O on Communicast. He’s a grade school gym teacher who is teaching our kids and his own from one sequestered household.  Got a great story to share?  Get in touch and we’ll see where this goes. And please, wash your hands.

<This article originally appeared in the May2020 issue of The Cryer>