Extended Schooĺ Closure, Golden Week Holiday, Staying Home

Even before the declaration of State of Emergency, school closure had been implemented accross the country. Last week, my city, Minoksmo shi, announced the expansion of school closure until 31st of May. On Monday this week, I was informed by the school principal at my school, which is in another town, that the Board of Education has also just decided to extend class suspension. Now, another month has been added to the long wait.

I have been thinking about this as I sat alone in an empty bus stop waiting to go home.

In a way, I was relieved because students won't have to risk catching the virus but at the same time I was having mixed feelings.

Like many other teachers, I have only been reporting to schools who asked me to come. Since the cases of CoViD-19 has been gradually rising in my prefecture, everyone is doing their best to reduce social contact. We stay at school for only a few hours as we are avoiding flocking in closed spaces.

As a teacher, preparing lesson plans and materials is not rocket science; the difficult part of it is not knowing what to actually anticipate, not being familair with the new students, and not having a clue when will everything go back to normal. These things add strain to a lot of teachers and make us feel lost in the moment. Many teachers have been conditioning their minds for the new school year, plans have been made and schedules have been set. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, these plans are yet to materialize, prepared lessons are left in computers, and printed materials are stored away in folders.

Online classes are being adapted in some cities but others are still hesitant to utilize it as it is considered troublesome for other students, and viewed ineffective by some teachers.

Fighting boredom and feeling of idleness during this time can be quite taxing. Maybe grab this opportunity to develop your skills, grow professionally through self-learning or attending seminars and trainings online, set up zoom/skype meetings with other teachers and share ideas and sentiments, maybe put an ending to the story you've been trying to write a long time, brush up on your Nihongo skills, and maybe a lot more.

The Golden Week Holiday is fast approaching, don't feel isolated and connect with your friends and family online. But, most importantly, remember to stay home to stay healthy for the sake of the children that you'll be meeting at school soon.