Pandemic – Sommer Season all year

It’s Time to Express Our Gratitude!

A commentary on those who deserve recognition during this world pandemic

I found that the news media since the coronavirus pandemic started is relatively quiet about bullying. That could mean one of two things. Either the media is focused solely on COVID-19 news, or bullying has declined drastically since stay at home orders have been implemented by governments.

I did find an article, published in March, in Education Week which is an independent news organization providing coverage on K-12 education. Its article titled, How Teachers Are Talking to Students About the Coronavirus, tells of information available for educators to help them challenge racist comments related to the coronavirus in the classroom. Its creator says teachers should confront bullying behaviour since it is counterproductive when bullying is trying to find a “scapegoat” for a global health crisis. In a recent post, I pointed out how the U.S. president at one time was referring to COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus,” claiming he does this because it was where the pandemic had its roots. This is laying blame on Chinese people and encouraging racial bullying against people of Chinese or Asian descent. Teachers are expected to counter bullying of any kind.

Haim Ginott, an Israeli child psychologist, psychotherapist, and a parent educator, once said; “Teachers are expected to reach unattainable goals with inadequate tools. The miracle is that at times they accomplish this impossible task.” I see teachers criticized more than valued.

I’m happy to see many wonderful posts thanking doctors, nurses, and other essential workers during this pandemic. These people deserve our recognition and gratitude, not only now but also during normal times. Here is a recent post I’ve seen:

Next year I don’t wanna hear about the Oscars, Grammys, Tonys or Golden Globes. I don’t want to see a single pathetic actor, actress, singer, celebrity or sports person on any red carpet!!!

Next year I want to see nurses, doctors, ambulance crews, health care support workers, shop workers and truck drivers, all essential workers, grocery store workers having free red-carpet parties with awards and expensive goodie bags. If this doesn’t happen it will be the biggest injustice ever!! Thank you! All of you that are working hard to keep us safe and allow us to have food on our table.

I couldn’t agree more. I’ve always believed there is too much value placed on celebrities of the performing and sports worlds. These people get paid outrageous amounts of money to entertain us. I have never understood why child care workers, for example, receive next to nothing for wages when these people care for our precious children. For me, it feels like our priorities are “out of whack.”

Our teachers are another group overlooked when it comes to receiving gratitude. As a retired teacher, I know how much work it is to teach in normal times. School closures due to the current world pandemic have forced teachers all over the world to teach differently. Suddenly, educators are forced to teach through technology. For some teachers, this is not a huge adjustment as they already post assignments and lessons online. These would be mainly high school teachers, but for elementary teachers, this is a huge shift.

My 29-year-old tech savvy daughter is one of them. She finds implementing creative ways to teach kindergarteners and grade 3 math students to be overwhelming, highly stressful, and time consuming, often working 12-hour days. She has calmed teachers in tears, overwhelmed with the technology. These are committed people who care about their students.

I’ve seen posts paying tribute to the graduate class of 2020 who will not experience a graduation ceremony. There are Facebook posts from the school I once taught at telling their students that they miss them. I’ve seen signs on school windows saying “we miss you.” As a former teacher, I have no trouble believing that teachers miss their students as my students were my family. After all, a teacher spends 6 or more hours a day with them.

bl020717 Teachers are essential workers! They are the ones keeping a child’s education going during this crisis. I read all sorts of posts saying parents are home schooling their children, and in part they are. But true home schoolers prepare the lessons and evaluate their child’s progress. Most parents are ensuring their child is learning, but it is the teachers who are preparing and teaching lessons virtually, and are the ones evaluating the child’s progress.

My wife was out walking in our local park, and came across a grandmother. Practicing physical distancing, the grandmother said her daughter who is now homeschooling her children, was doing great. My wife responded, “You do understand that it is the teachers preparing the lessons, right?” This grandmother could not grasp what she meant.

CBS Boston’s article, Teachers Find Creative Ways To Reach Students During Coronavirus Closure talks about the challenges teachers have during this pandemic. A Fox News’ article, Parents praise teachers, say they deserve ‘billion dollars’ while homeschooling kids amid coronavirus outbreak, reveals the many U.S. parents who are grateful for their child’s teachers. I have not come across any Canadian articles, other than articles saying teachers are hosting virtual lessons, expressing gratitude for Canada’s teachers. This saddens me. I was happy to find that Buzzfeed, an American News outlet, has an article called, 23 Teacher Appreciation Tweets In Response To Schools Being Closed And Kids Being Quarantined At Home, showing tweets of gratitude for teachers. French-American historian, Jacques Barzun, says; “In teaching you cannot see the fruit of a day’s work. It is invisible and remains so, maybe for twenty years.” We don’t see the impact of a good teacher until children are adults. I have had many students approach me long after they graduated to tell me the effect I had on their life.

It is time to include teachers in the list of essential workers during this time of world crisis. It is time to express gratitude for the work teachers do. They are doing their part to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by teaching virtually. They are doing their part to ensure your children and grandchildren’s education continues. The Greek philosopher, Aristotle, allegedly said, “Teachers, who educate children, deserve more honour than parents, who merely gave them birth; for the latter provided mere life, while the former ensured a good life.” In my view, teachers are invisible frontline workers!

Not Even a Pandemic Stops Bullying

As citizens of the world isolate themselves, and most of the world has come to a halt because of COVID-19 or Coronavirus, I had some hope for the future. Why, you ask? Because if ever there was a time, since World War II, that the world must come together to stop a threat, it is now.

The reality is, this virus, known as COVID-19, does not discriminate. It does not discriminate based on whether an individual is male or female. It doesn’t choose its victims based on a person’s age, race, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, or social standing. It does not matter to the virus whether you belong to a Royal family, a wealthy family, middle class family, or a poverty-stricken family. Nor does it discriminate based on whether you’re a celebrity, a politician, a CEO of a corporation, a professional, or tradesperson. The truth is, if you are a human being, you qualify.

Yet, I naively thought that we humans would realize (during a crisis never experienced by anyone presently living) that all of us are human brothers and sisters, and that we are all in the same boat. I thought it would motivate humans to start behaving more kindly and compassionate to one another. Don’t get me wrong, many on the planet are. But still bullying and racism continue, even when the world is in crisis. People and Forbes magazines both report that countries worldwide are reporting an increase in assaults against citizens of Asian descent. People’s article, Racist Attacks Against Asians Continue to Rise as the Coronavirus Threat Grows, tells of a Chinese fencing student who was viciously assaulted in Australia, how a student from Singapore was attacked in London by four men shouting ‘I Don’t Want Your Coronavirus in my country,’ and how a Los Angeles high school student was attacked after bullies accused him of having the virus. It lists other examples. Clearly, many in the human family fail to see one another as brothers and sisters.

There is a letter in the Parksville Qualicum Beach News, a newspaper in the Canadian province of British Columbia titled, Adults are a primary cause of bullying behaviour among children, where the authors say:

One only has to really look around to see and realize that bullying exists, every day, in all age groups. Bullying is a constant in our society and it is about exerting or trying to exert power over those who are vulnerable or in positions with less or no power. It seems to be acceptable for adults to bully in their daily dealings and interactions. Corporations and government at all levels pay lip service to preventative programs. Programs need to be geared to adults as well as youth and children.

Children learn by observing the behaviours of their parents. They mimic those behaviours and take those behaviours and beliefs on as their own. If their parents/society demonstrate bullying behaviours and those behaviours/ beliefs/attitudes are deemed acceptable, then the child will think that they too can get away with those behaviours. They become the norm.

This is exactly right. We are born innocent and pure. We are born without the tendency to bully. Bullying is a learned behaviour, so I agree completely, adults are to blame when children or young people bully.

The letter also says; “The activities of the U.S. president Donald Trump are a blatant example of bullying,” which is exactly right. In my last post I revealed how the U.S. president was referring to COVID-19 as the “Chinese virus,” claiming he does this because it was where the pandemic had its roots. What he is really doing is laying blame on Chinese people and encouraging racial bullying against people of Chinese or Asian descent. Racial bullying is a type of racism where someone’s bullying focuses on your race, ethnicity, or culture.

I saw a meme on Facebook that said, “It kind of feels like the universe has sent us to our rooms to think about what we’ve done.” The world is being stilled, just as it says in Psalm 46:10 of the Christian scriptures, “Be still and know that I am God.” Maybe it is a reminder to all of us that we humans are a family, and we need to be acting as a family. Perhaps it is reminding us of the Golden Rule; “Do unto others, as you would have done to you.”

Perhaps this COVID pandemic is a tool of some higher power bringing about transformation on our planet to a create simpler, kinder, and more caring world. Perhaps the pandemic is lasting a long time because we humans are slow learners. Anthon St. Maarten, an inspirational speaker from the Netherlands, says; “Many of us dream of a better, safer, more caring world, without recognizing that it all begins with creating and maintaining a deeper love in our own home. The seeds of world peace should be planted in our own backyard.” Mohandas K. Gandhi says it best when he said, “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” Maybe that is what this virus is trying to teach the world, and more specifically each of us. The change has to start with you and me.

The Two Faces of a Pandemic

A commentary on the current pandemic

As I watch the world literally shut down because of the virus known as COVID-19, and as my wife and I are practicing “social distancing” by self-isolating in our home, I can observe and reflect on the world’s new reality. American author, J Lynn, says, “Sometimes when things are falling apart, they may actually be falling into place,” or American singer-songwriter, Morgan Harper Nichols who says, “Going through things you never thought you’d go through, will only take you places you’d never thought you’d get to.” Perhaps this is what is happening. This COVID-19 pandemic may involve forces we don’t understand that are taking the world in a new direction. My wife and I call it a “reset.”

I been feeling like the world is out of control for a while now. Democracy in its present form is failing us. Corporate greed is irreparably damaging the planet. Racism and hate are on the rise. I could go on and on.

Tough times—presently the COVID-19 virus—can bring out the best in people, and the worst in people. I witnessed and read about both. First, the worst in people.

A personal example is recently a parent asked our great nieces to stop at the grocery store on the way home from school to pick up some milk. It just so happened that they got the last jug. Three ladies with their carts stocked piled with various products followed them around the store, calling them selfish. They were traumatized by the experience and refused to ever go back during this pandemic.

Barbara Coloroso, an international bestselling author says this about bullying:

Bullying is not about anger, it’s about contempt, a powerful feeling of dislike toward somebody considered to be worthless, inferior, and undeserving of respect…

These three selfish ladies were feeling contempt towards our nieces because they were not able to get the last jug of milk. They likely—I’m speculating—considered two teenagers to be inferior and undeserving of their respect. The Japan Times has an news report titled, Japan sees rise in harassment, bullying and discrimination linked to COVID-19, so bullying is occurring as a result of this pandemic.

The HuffPost article, Forced To Finally Take Coronavirus Seriously, Trump Turns To Racism, reports that after months of properly referring to the virus as Coronavirus or COVID-19, the U. S. president is now insisting on calling it the “Chinese virus.” Trump claims he does this because it is where the pandemic has its roots, but what he is really doing is laying blame on Chinese people and encouraging prejudice and violence against people of Chinese or Asian descent. The American leader is promoting hatred, racism, and bullying. Is racism bullying, you ask?

Childline, based in London, England, is a confidential service for children, says this about bullying and racism.

Racial bullying is a type of racism where someone’s bullying focuses on your race, ethnicity, or culture. Racism and racist bullying can include:

being called racist names or being sent insulting messages or threats
having your belongings damaged or having to see racist graffiti
personal attacks, including violence or assault
being left out, treated differently or excluded
people making assumptions about you because of your colour, race or culture
being made to feel like you have to change how you look
racist jokes, including jokes about your colour, nationality race or culture.

What Trump is doing is shamefully encouraging people to be exclusive of Asians and to treat Asians differently. Racism is bullying!

I have also observed that this pandemic is doing wonderful things. China and Italy’s pollution have drastically lessoned. (see CBC News). Fish and dolphins have returned to Venice’s canals because of halted tourism (see Venice). Italians sing from their balconies during pandemic lockdown (see Singing). People are posting all sorts humorous memes (see example below) to uplift people’s spirits, and posting creative ways to de-stress during this difficult time. I could go on.

What I find most interesting during this difficult time in history, is people’s attitudes seem to be shifting. I’ve heard people say, “I feel relief and less stressed now that my commitments are gone.” One person told my wife that she has never felt better now that she isn’t working because of social distancing. People seem to be coming to the realization that maybe their lives have been out of control, and this pandemic is forcing them to slow down. The world was required to “be still” as the Christian scriptures say, “Be still and know that I am God” in Psalm 46:10. Many in the world are beginning to see all humans as a family, saying things like, “We’re all in this together,” and “We all must do our part to prevent overwhelming our health care systems.” Humanity is reaching out to one another.

For example, people are making posts of encouragement. I just read this one:

This too shall pass. I just wanted to take a moment today to remind everyone that storms do end and nothing lasts forever. Things may get worse before they get better, but as a world we will get through this crisis together and emerge stronger because of it. This is a time to demonstrate our capacity to come together to help, care for, and support one another. We can use these struggles to reforge our faith in one another and prove to ourselves our capacity to tackle difficult global challenges collaboratively. Like our ancestors before us did after the wars, we can use this humbling situation as a catalyst for new grow and new direction for the century to come.

Perhaps this is the silver lining! Perhaps this pandemic is transforming the world into one that is simpler, kinder, and more caring. Let’s hope so.