The irony is stark. While the virus has us physically separated, it is also difficult to think of a historical event that has so inexorably linked the world. Asians have used the same methods to confront the same challenge as people throughout the Americas, Europeans, and Africans. Has a natural disaster or a war ever reached so many corners of our planet in such a personal way? What about an economic crisis? It seems to me that it is possible to argue that Coronavirus is one of the world’s most wide-reaching experiences.
Considering the scale that I’m trying to describe, our university feels inconsequential. However, for our students and the people who work at Salem State, the abrupt closing in March and the breakneck transition to online classes were violent disruptions to well-honed routines. Like everyone else on Earth, it feels like the virus’s arrival will mark a before and after in our lives. It isn’t clear to me that the future contains a return to the pre-virus past that we enjoyed.
As we moved from routine to disruption to uncertain future, it was heartening to see our department and our university keep our students at the center of our efforts. Those efforts were, no doubt, imperfect, but it was a wonderful thing to see. The fall semester now looms and with it come unknowns. What will classrooms look like? How well will we adapt to the online portions of our pedagogy? Time will tell.
For now, I wanted to share a couple of videos we made. First, one to tell our students that we missed them. Second, a virtual way to express how proud we are of our graduates. Whatever the next semester brings, we look forward to spending it with our students.
Considering the scale that I’m trying to describe, our university feels inconsequential. However, for our students and the people who work at Salem State, the abrupt closing in March and the breakneck transition to online classes were violent disruptions to well-honed routines. Like everyone else on Earth, it feels like the virus’s arrival will mark a before and after in our lives. It isn’t clear to me that the future contains a return to the pre-virus past that we enjoyed.
As we moved from routine to disruption to uncertain future, it was heartening to see our department and our university keep our students at the center of our efforts. Those efforts were, no doubt, imperfect, but it was a wonderful thing to see. The fall semester now looms and with it come unknowns. What will classrooms look like? How well will we adapt to the online portions of our pedagogy? Time will tell.
For now, I wanted to share a couple of videos we made. First, one to tell our students that we missed them. Second, a virtual way to express how proud we are of our graduates. Whatever the next semester brings, we look forward to spending it with our students.
