3/31/20 Brendan Gallo Period 8

3/31/20

Brendan Gallo, Modern Mythology Period 8

What is it like working from home?

Remote learning is very different from normal lessons, and the adjustment period has been strange. It's only been a week since we started remote learning, and because of that some of my teachers are still figuring out the most effective way to teach. Despite this, I've actually really enjoyed it so far. I don't have to commute to school, so I can sleep longer, and the way classes are scheduled allows me to work more at my own pace. If I am confused about a topic, I can more freely search or ask a friend for help, two things I can't always do in some classes. One downside to remote learning is that I'm getting distracted easier and more often. Since there's no longer a risk of getting caught doing something unrelated, I sometimes drift away from the work and do something else. This is something I'm working on fixing. Overall, the remote learning experience has been calmer and more stress-free for me and while I hope we can go back to school in the near future, it's something I wouldn't mind continuing.

What are the updates around the world/community regarding the virus?

The US now has more coronavirus cases than any other country in the world with over 184,000 cases, over 75,000 of which are in New York. The Trump Administration has predicted that anywhere between 100,000 and 240,000 people in the country could die from the virus. As Trump puts it, “This is going to be the roughest three weeks we’ve ever had in this country”. For something more local, It's been announced that remote learning will be continuing in New York through spring break, effectively "cancelling" the vacation. To be honest, I was expecting something like this to happen as there was an unplanned week off before the remote learning started. While it was initially upsetting to hear, I completely understand that we've already lost a lot of school time and we can't afford to lose much more. 

Your own personal feelings and thoughts about what is going on right now.

I've been reflecting on when I first learned about the coronavirus. I don't believe it had left China at that point, and I was thinking that it was some minor virus they would have under control in a month. It seems I couldn't have been more wrong. It's become a global pandemic that's likely going to take the lives of hundreds of thousands, if not millions. I've been noticing how different people and stores have completely different responses to the virus, even if it doesn't make sense. As an example, my mom and I went to a Walmart and Sam's Club as we were running low on food. Despite being owned by the same company, the stores had very different responses - Sam's Club had a line outside to make sure the store wasn't getting too crowded and had workers making sure people were at least six feet apart. In the store, employees were handing out sanitizing wipes and cleaning the shopping carts. Walmart, on the other hand, did absolutely nothing differently - anyone was allowed to walk in and nobody seemed to be concerned with the cleanliness of the store. It just upsets me that we're in the epicenter of the pandemic and stores like Walmart still don't care about people's health. They're spreading the virus even further  and something needs to be done about it.