Grace’s Blog

Bernert, Laura. “Coronavirus Stole My Senior Year of High School, and My Right to Mourn It: Opinion.” https://www.inquirer.com. The Philadelphia Inquirer, April 12, 2020. https://www.inquirer.com/opinion/commentary/coronavirus-school-closures-pennsylvania-class-of-2020-20200412.html. 

Bushweller, Kevin. “How Personalized Learning Is Weathering Tough Times: ‘Iterate and Learn’.” Education Week. Education Week, December 3, 2020. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/how-personalized-learning-is-weathering-tough-times-iterate-and-learn/2020/11. 

Crosnoe, Robert. Fitting in, Standing out: Navigating the Social Challenges of High School to Get an Education. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2011. https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/templeuniv-ebooks/detail.action?docID=691964&pq-origsite=primo. 

“How the Pandemic Is Testing Personalized Learning.” Education Week. Education Week, December 6, 2020. https://www.edweek.org/technology/how-the-pandemic-is-testing-personalized-learning/2020/11. 

“The Impact of COVID-19 on High School Students.” The Impact of COVID-19 on high school students – Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health. Child & Adolescent Behavioral Health, 2020. https://www.childandadolescent.org/the-impact-of-covid-19-on-high-school-students/. 

Lieberman, Mark. “How Hybrid Learning Is (and Is Not) Working During COVID-19: 6 Case Studies.” Education Week. Education Week, December 9, 2020. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/how-hybrid-learning-is-and-is-not-working-during-covid-19-6-case-studies/2020/11. 

Melnyk, B. M., Kelly, S., Jacobson, D., Belyea, M., Shaibi, G., Small, L., Marsiglia, F. F. (2013). The COPE healthy lifestyles TEEN randomized controlled trial with culturally diverse high school adolescents: Baseline characteristics and methods. Contemporary Clinical Trials, 36(1), 41-53. doi:10.1016/j.cct.2013.05.013 https://www-sciencedirect-com.libproxy.temple.edu/science/article/pii/S0749379713003954. 

“Mental Health–Related Emergency Department Visits Among Children Aged 18 Years During the COVID-19 Pandemic – United States, January 1–October 17, 2020.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, November 12, 2020. https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/69/wr/mm6945a3.htm?s_cid=mm6945a3_w. 

Sparks, Sarah Dockery. “Children’s Mental Health Emergencies Skyrocketed After COVID-19 Hit. What Schools Can Do.” Education Week. Education Week, December 1, 2020. https://www.edweek.org/leadership/childrens-mental-health-emergencies-skyrocketed-after-covid-19-hit-what-schools-can-do/2020/11. 

I think that schools will constantly be changing as coronavirus continues, even during this year. Over time a new perspective of past students will emerge and they can look back on their experience. Along with them will be statistics on how they perform compared to how students before the coronavirus performed. Will schooling online give students advantages in the workplace, or is this isolation slowing the development of their social skills? I think these can be asked about any students right now, college-age, high school, middle, and elementary students. And for each different age group, I think the experiences will be very different, as the coronavirus continues and when it is over. Young students might have online schooling for much of the school lives, while older students already know what they are missing.

Online school was always available before this time, but it was not common to choose that over in-person classes. Will online school become more common now that it is the norm, or will families and students be eager to get back into school? How will schools evolve after using online tools? Are teachers going to incorporate zoom classes for students who call out sick? Many students right now are feeling a zoom burnout and from what I’ve seen schools are acknowledging this and being more flexible with students to take care of their mental health. When schools go back to in-person, will the same care for mental health be taken?

In four years (2024) the younger students affected by coronavirus will still be going through school. How are the students who had to learn to read online performing in classes? How are the middle schoolers adjusting socially to high school culture and the school workload? Are the high schoolers better are organizing their time and workload in college or their jobs better because of how they had to operate for online schooling?

In 30 years (2050) the students who experienced the coronavirus are adults. Because they grew up always having technology and then had their learning experience altered by online schooling, how might technology be? Will there be an even bigger market for technology for schools? They also will mostly have children of their own going through school, are they better at helping to teach their children from home because much of online school is teaching yourself?

In one hundred years (2120, first of all, that sounds like a fake year) those affected by the coronavirus are gone, or very old. Schools changed so much in the last one hundred years (1920-2020) that to think about schools one hundred years from now seems impossible. I think the school system will change at that time, and that it will be normal to use technology as learning tools. I don’t know what questions I would ask except how is the year 2020 taught?

My experience living through this election has been hard because I have different beliefs than my family. They blame Temple for “teaching me liberal ideas.” My grandfather passed this summer and he was a big Trump supporter, my grandmother told me to make my vote “for pop-pop,” which made me think about how some people think politics are a religion. It is common for children to end up just voting the same as their parents, I found out today that my sister did that, and I realized that I was the only one in my family that chooses to have different views. We don’t exactly talk about politics that often, but it has been hard to know they don’t agree with me. However, I know sometimes they make fun of me, my parent’s friends call me “their liberal friend” as if it’s an insult. America has been getting more and more polarized, and it is been within families, and the past two elections have only made it worse. I think that for my generation this election is a turning point for how much we care for politics, and that will be seen in history.

For history looking back to before the 2020 election and looking at the 2016 election as well will be important. Between Donald Trump and Hilary Clinton, the election became more of a joke from what I experienced, and that people never thought that Trump would win. But the Democratic party was too divided that by not voting for Clinton they were basically voting for Trump. The prediction of the election was wrong, and by being in high school and seeing that happen, I feel that my peers and I could see the importance of voting and get involved in politics. So now with many of the generation that experienced that eligible to vote, the voting rate I think is going to increase. If I were to study this election in the future I think I would focus on the younger generations and analyze how they view the past elections and follow them up to when they are able to vote and see how they decide.

We had in-person classes for the first week of the semester. On the first day, we didn’t exactly follow the spacing guidelines of the seating chart but we eventually got it. Both days we went around the room to learn about each other and each other names. Professor Whitaker, wanting to learn everyone’s names in the first week, went around testing her knowledge after each row. Many of my classmates were either history majors or secondary ed history majors. Because of the Coronavirus, the college experience and structure has been constantly changing. During the first day of class, we talked about how coronavirus has affected us, either sharing what we did over quarantine, our concerns about what will happen, even placing bets on how long it will take for Temple to shut down. Almost the whole class has had an experience of what “normal” college life is, but there was a freshman who shared she felt that everything just keeps getting pushed back, I remember relating to that feeling.

After our casual discussions about ourselves and coronavirus, we changed course to talk about what this semester of Historian’s Craft will look like by going through the syllabus. Professor Whitaker explained how normally this class would focus on some event in history, or each student would pick one… I’m not really sure, but the important part was that it’s different this year because we are living through a historical event, so the class will focus on Coronavirus.

Then we discussed what history is. Common words were the past, study, and time. We made a big word cloud of words that come to mind when we think of history and made a single sentence to describe what history is. I think it was something like “history is the study of past events and how they impact our present.”

On the second day, I think, we had discussions on what matters to history. We applied it to Confederate statues: when and why were they put up, what message they were meant to send, and what message do they send now? We also discuss how the vandalism that happens to these statues becomes a part of their history. The protests following George Floyd’s death vandalized many of these Confederate statues so we talked about, would removing these states be “erasing history?” We ultimately ruled no, getting rid of these states is not erasing history but getting rid of what the statues meant and promoted, white supremacy.

When does someone become a historical subject is an interesting question as we look at ourselves as historical subjects of the Covid-19 pandemic. That is very different than what Tucker is trying to discuss, she isn’t analyzing herself. I think that a person becomes a historical subject once they become public figures, musicians are historical subjects because they are putting themselves out there. However, that is not the only way historical subjects are anyone who a historical has taken interest in. For example, if someone wanted to study the life of a relative to learn more about their family history, their family has all become historical subjects. We also look at archives of people diaries, who probably never thought their personal writings would be studied, do they become historical subjects once they pass and their families give theirs belongs away? Seem rather invasive of historians to use people personal information, but their stories are worthy of learning because it gives us a better understanding of our society today. 

I think that when it comes to privacy historians have to take into consideration what their living historical subjects want. We all have the right to privacy and for Tucker, her subjects did not want to come out on the record… but what does that mean for when they pass? Something like sexual identity is valuable and historians should not be the ones to out people if they do not want to be, as Tucker mentioned they worked to maintain the appearance of being straight, they earned it. But what does that mean for girls who are struggling with their identity ad look to these all-women bands and see that all of them were perceived as straight? The women in these bands have the opportunity to be role models if they wanted to be, so that future generations of all-female bands won’t have to work to appear straight they can be who they are. I think that it is very hard to navigate what information historians should share about their subjects. 

For my project I will actually be interviewing high school students, asking how they feel about school before and during the pandemic. I need to take into consideration what these subjects feel comfortable sharing, some teens hate high school, and for different reasons may not want to share why. Others may have loved it and give every detail. I think it will be interesting to see what they feel comfortable sharing with me since my interviewees at the moment consist of my younger sister, her friends, and people I knew in high school. 

Based on the article : “When Subjects Don’t Come Out”

The 1919 Influenza Pandemic coincided with the end of World War 1. Living during that time affected everyone in some way, either by the sickness or war. Male family members had been drafted or enlisted in the war, leaving their families who relied on their income to survive. Poorer families suffered the most, the dependents of soldiers were left without help from the government that was promised. As the military traveled the Flu spread quickly in waves. Naval facilities and military bases in the United States report hundreds of cases. Soon cities became hot spots for the Spanish Flu, all of the United States was affected by the illness. The flu was brought to the United States because of the war (however it most likely would have spread either way). Many doctors and nurses enlisted in the military leaving those facing the illness scrambling for help and newspapers asking for volunteers. 

The war also had a part in making the pandemic worse. Newspapers were also discouraged to report on the Spanish Flu because the war was still going on, the government did not want the war to be seen negatively. In newspapers, articles about the pandemic were not on the front page, indicating that it was made not to be important news despite the increasing death tolls. In Philadelphia, the seriousness of the Spanish Flu was ignored and the city held a parade for Liberty Loan to promote investment in the war. The crowd spread the illness fast causing Philadelphia to be the hardest hit city. The end of the war brought waves to the Spanish Flu as soldiers returned home and the public celebrated Armistice Day. After the war ended there seems to be more attention on the pandemic. Educational programs about the dangers of coughing and sneezing. Recommendations to slowly open factories. Funding for research on treatment is requested. And some one-year courses to become “practical nurses” are created (1918 Pandemic Influenza Historical Timeline).

I struggled to find sources relating to my topic, I had to do some general research on the 1918 pandemic to find out what keywords or dates I should look for. After simply searching “1918 pandemic school” I found that schools in urban areas stayed opened even during October, which I learned was the height of the flu. So I changed my search dates to 1918 October. I also saw that in newspapers they were referring to it as the flu epidemic rather than a pandemic, so I made that change again. What I ended up with was searching for was “school close epidemic.” And I found this newspaper updating on the death rates in and around Philadelphia, it mentions schools closing. I know that after uploading it here it is hard to read but if you go to the link you can read the articles. What I learned was that school-age children were greatly affected by the flu and many closed down. It even gives percentages of how many students were attending school, and an update that the Board of Education had closed.

The second source I found is a book. I have not read the whole thing yet but it talks about yellow fever in Philadelphia in 1973. I am not sure yet if will be particularly helpful or my topic but describes the state of Pennslyvania during that time, quarantines put in place, and whatnot. School was not made mandatory until 1852 so children were not attending any school that we would know today. But this book mentions children and their families, it also talks about the poor during this time period. I can relate this to schools myself because schools are a form of child care and opportunity for all. I need to review this book more but I think that it definitely will be interesting if not helpful. 

How do the changes in school affect families at home?

I would like to do my research project on how the pandemic has effected k-12 schooling. My mom and I were just talking about how if this happened when I was in elementary school she would have had to quit her job and focus on teaching me how to read. Let’s just say I was a late bloomer, and I know that there are families facing this problem on varying levels. There are kids like me who need a little more help in school and have full time working parents, high school students having to take their classes online and watch their siblings, and parents of special needs students are struggling to get their kids the attention they need, my aunt in Texas is one of them. The pictures I chose how in-person classes are being done, but I want to focus on how online schooling is working and affecting families. 

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My major is education but I have not taken classes on how to teach yet, I have taken classes on how schools change over time to work for their communities. Schools have had to grow from one-room schoolhouses to usually three different schools, elementary, middle, and high school. During the pandemic, those schools are not in use, school is now in our bedrooms, living rooms, and kitchens. The pictures of the socially distant classrooms are powerful but most schools are not going back, I would argue that those pictures are not representing how school life has changed during the pandemic. So I would like to do my research on how online education is effecting families, teachers, and students. I want to learn how the atmosphere of a high school is different now, how kids are learning to read in their homes, and how this will affect how schools work in the future.

Time

The passage of time can be seen through a clock, however, experiencing time can be seen in different ways. Every person experiences time differently because they all spend their time differently. My pictures show my passage of time: The sun shining through the blinds of my window, books that I read or reread, and paint building up on palettes.

My first picture is of the sun shining through my window, this is probably the closest picture to a clock. Every day the sun comes up and moves across this window. During the past months out this window, there has been a beautiful day, rainy days, cloudy days, but mostly average. So much time has past but it also feels like none has passed since getting sent home last year. However, I know the world has greatly changed, the pandemic has affected everyone, putting the world on pause. 

The picture of my bookshelf also shows the passage of time. Although I would love to claim I read all of them in the past 7 months, I did not, this shelf is a mix of my and my sisters’ reads over quarantine. At first, was going to say reading takes time thus the passage of time can be seen on a bookshelf. But, now I notice something else, most of the books are fantasy. By reading books about a different world than your own you are escaping in a sense. Right now our lives are unpredictable, reading provides an escape. 

This last picture I included is of my paint palette with lots of paint build-up. What I like about this is that this isn’t from the past 7 months, the first layer of paint is probably from August 2018 (that is just when I decided to not clean up right after painting anymore). Lots of paint has been added to it because I had so much time to enjoy that hobby, but it is something that didn’t start during the quarantine. Time keeps going forever and although it feels like this part of the time will never end it will. And eventually, it will just be a layer of paint. 

Place

This is a map of my current world during the pandemic. I used a mask as the layout of my world because inside the mask is “safe” and outside you could get sick or get others sick. Since the pandemic my world has gotten very small, my grandparents and I are neighbors, our family is in a little bubble so our houses are in the center. The “folds” in the mask act as roads because in the car you “safe” as well. I work in the bakery of a grocery store, and I place that half on the mask half off because for me, it is not a big risk to go, and I go often. On the other side, I put camping. Over the summer our family vacations got canceled so instead we camped different places, I put it half on because we were still on a campground with other people but it was all outdoors. Temple is in the top right corner, and it has the train leading up to it because that is how I get there. Red dots surround Temple because it has become a hot spot for COVID cases. The other side is my older sister’s school, Bloomsburg, they also have a spike in cases causing it to close. I included my younger sister’s, my mom’s, and my dad’s place of work because in my house we are all still working. The bottom of the mask has my friends’ houses who live around me. Everything is connected to my house through the pink dotted lines to my phone, symbolizing how everyone is still able to stay connected because of technology.