My Thoughts on Remote Learning

Here are my thoughts on remote Learning. I have both positive and negative points. Remember that these thoughts are from the point of view of this teacher.

Positive Points:

• I love the short commute which means I can sleep in a little bit. I get up at 7:20 each morning instead of 5:30
• I can go to the bathroom whenever I want. I don't have to wait until class ends and then worry about being late to my next class. This definitely helped me out with my kidney issues.
• I didn't have to worry about what outfit I was going to wear for the day. Since none was going to see me I just threw on shorts and a t-shirt every day
• I can eat lunch whenever I am hungry
• There was senior car parade. That was so much fun. I hope that is one Corona virus tradition we keep.

Negative Points:

• I didn't get to be with my students. I missed the everyday interaction so much
• We didn't get to have the Mr. NHS show. I love this show and the boys worked so hard to put it together.
• When a student wasn't doing work it was very difficult to motivate them via email
• So much more work than if I was able to teach in my classroom. I spent more than double the time making videos to explain the lessons and then making creative activities and some ordinary worksheets for students to practice and then finding ways to make online assessments to be sure the students understand the work. And the countless emails to students and parents who weren't actively engaged in the remote learning.
• This last negative point is the worst. There were NO sports. I LOVE going to the school sporting events. Thank goodness the stay at home orders didn't come until our boys basketball team finished their season. So sad that we missed Baseball, Softball, Boys volleyball, Tennis, lacrosse and spring track.

There are many other Negative points but I prefer not to dwell on too much negative.

Now we play the wait and see game as to whether or not we are in the classrooms in September. 

I think masks are going to be a problem. They are so HOT and fog up my glasses yet they are necessary to keep everyone healthy so I will always were mine.

Fingers crossed that a vaccine comes about sooner rather than later.

National Cancer Survivors Day

I want to congratulate all my fellow cancer survivors. I a so glad that I live in a time that a cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence. Thank you  to all the doctors and researchers coming up with new treatments and cures all the time.

I was first diagnosed with a tumor in the middle lobe of my right lung in January of 2005. I had a PET scan on Thursday and I got a phone call from my doctor Friday afternoon saying he made an appointment for me with a thoracic surgeon for Tuesday because Monday was a holiday. Wasn't much longer until I had surgery to remove the lobe and the tumor. Turned out it was cancer but the surgery got everything and the lymph nodes were clear so the surgery cured me. I just needed 3 months to recover from the surgery.

Ten years later, in June, my doctor told me I was clear. No need for any more scans after this many years,"IT" wasn't coming back.  YAY, I had a party to celebrate but the celebration didn't last long as I was diagnosed with Uterine cancer in August.  I was told the cancer was in the early stages but I needed surgery again. I had a trip to Disney World planned so I put the surgery off until September. 

I took my trip to Florida and had a pretty good time but still had that diagnosis on my mind.

Well, I had the surgery, cancer was a little more advanced than first thought but once again the surgery got ALL the cancer and lymph nodes were all clear so again no need for chemo or radiation.

I consider myself one of the VERY lucky ones and I make sure that I enjoy everyday. Even these days of being home with the corona virus scare. Everyone should make the most of everyday!

Happy #NationalCancerSurvivorsDay