Day 39 of rollback-California Covid-19 spike - Governor shuts us down

Class enrollment is at 25 and the class meets today. The class needs to remain at 20 or above for the next three weeks - otherwise, it’s canceled.

Thursday. 8/20/20

8:00-8:40 - I’m up and I take the dog out, but she just sniffs around the yard and won’t go. This typically means she has pee or pooped in the house. We go back inside and I check - nothing. I act enthusiastic and say, “Lets go outside and go potty!!” and we go back outside. She walks around and sniffs at various bushes and picks up rocks from the red-rock bed, but won’t go. We go back inside, then I try the same technique, excitedly asking her to go potty. We go back outside and she engages in the same behavior but won’t go. All of this takes 20 minutes and I’m really pissed because she hasn’t done anything.

I put her in the house and block the doggie door, then clean the fountain outside. It was clogged with leaves and flowing at a trickle - it also needed more water. This takes about 10 minutes and when I go inside and unblock the doggie door, I see that she shit in three places. I again try the same technique, excitedly asking her to go potty, and we go outside. This time she goes. Cheese.

8:40-11:00 - I get my coffee and go upstairs. I update my blog.

12:00-1:00 - Shower. Covid-19 uniform. I listen to Fresh Air. I start a load of laundry and call the BMC door employee, per his emailed request, so he can order a lock for my door. His secretary says he’s on another call and will call me when he’s done. Spoiler Alert - He never does.

1:00-1:30 - I have plain yogurt with apples, walnuts, and honey and get ready for my class “roll out.” Spoiler alert: I won’t eat the rest of the day

1:30-2:00 - I field between 50 - 100 emails from students who either a) want to crash my 7:00; or b) want to know where the Zoom link is. I sent all of my students instructions on how to access the classes, to include the syllabus - there is no Zoom. There never has been. Each time I get a question from a student asking for the Zoom link, I reply, “Below is the email that I sent to all students two weeks ago. I’ve also attached the syllabus, again, for your review. There is no Zoom.” In other words, read the **%$^** directions.

Why do students want to know if they can crash my class when everyone can see that I have ONE spot available and SEVEN students on the Waitlist - this information is accessible to every student. Several students, rudely and presumptively, emailed me and said, “Please send me an Add Code.” No.

Pretty nervous about the upcoming launch…

The administrator for my high schoolers emailed me and said that class time on Wednesdays and Fridays is actually 1 1/2 hours, not 1 hour as she has said earlier, AND class is NOT canceled when the students have Liturgy - class time is simply reduced. Unfortunately, I had already re-designed the syllabus to reflect that the students would be absent on numerous Wednesdays due to Liturgy and adjusted course content to control for the 30-minute reduction. So, once again, the syllabus has to be revamped and adjusted to reflect that the students WILL be in class during Liturgy and these changes also need to be posted to the Canvas shell. Exhausting.

Something new: The Canvas shell at College No. 2 won’t be up for 3 weeks so I only have to EMAIL course content to the high schoolers. Unless you’re a teacher, you won’t realize how incredibly easy this is - I’m actually NOT expected to teach and yet I will still get paid the same salary for sending emails.

2:30-10:30 - The launch goes well! One of my OSD students, who appears to be, from some of her comments, just old and actually NOT handicapped, has difficulty following instructions so while class is underway, she and I are emailing constantly because she doesn’t understand anything. She emails, “I can’t find the Zoom link” and I respond, “Below is the email that I sent to all students two weeks ago. I’ve also attached the syllabus, again, for your review. There is no Zoom. Enjoy!” This student is one of those students who tries to create problems so she can complain to Administration - I know the type - but it won’t work with me because I never miss. She emailed me previously, explaining all of the accommodations that she needs due to her disability [poor vision and old age] and I respond immediately and address each request, stating that I can accommodate all of them. No response.

At 2:30, when Specialty Class No. 2 class starts, she emails, “The PP slides aren’t there.” I email back, “You’re right!! [insert happy face-go fuck yourself emoji here] That’s because I post in real time. Stay tuned for the PP slides in 6 minutes [3:00 p.m.]!” She emails, “The recorded lecture stops every time I click on the PP slides.” She didn’t download the PP slides - all you have to do is click the link that says “Download the PP slides” - but she couldn’t figure it out so it was jacking up the audio file. I email her the PP slides: “Here you go!” She emails, “I can’t find the audio lecture for Chapter 1.” I email back, “You’re right!!! It’s because I post in real time. Stay tuned for the Audio Lecture at 3:30 p.m.” I should note that not one other student emailed me regarding these issues.

The rest of the class goes well. Everybody signed onto the Discussion Board then played the audio lecture and viewed the PP slides simultaneously. Students emailed me in real time when they had questions, as instructed, and I responded in order to create a record to prove that my class is “synchronous.” I liked this part quite a bit - while the lecture is playing, the students are emailing me questions about the class or comments about what they find interesting. The best part is I don’t have to talk, but I still get to interact with the students. I think I like this mode of communication best.

Student enrollment needs to stay above 20 for the next THREE weeks. If it drops below that number, before the Census (our college Census, not the federal govt.), the class is canceled.

Class ends at 5:30 and I make a few tweaks to the Canvas shell and start prepping for the 7:00 roll out. This is my biggest class and student requests to crash ramp up. I’m fielding emails for the next hour.

The 7:00 roll out goes well and I receive positive emails from a few students in real time about the format. Like the 2:30 class, students emailed me in real time, primarily with questions about the text and the Inquizitive software needed for taking quizzes through the Norton publisher. I respond in order to create a record to prove that my class is “synchronous.” One student asks, “Are we ever going to have Zoom?” Really? Are you serious? No. The students seem to appreciate that they can actually have one-on-one discussions with their instructor, without an audience and no fear of embarrassment asking a question in front of their peers.

My vacancies open up to three, but I email three students on the Waitlist list and they Add the class. Two of my classes are completely full.

10:30-11:00 - I do some last, follow-up emails to the students, make a few adjustments to Canvas, and shut it down. A success! I feel I can move forward with this format for the remainder of the semester so I set an ambitious goal to finish recording and posting all of my lectures by the second week of September. Once completed, I won’t have to do anything else for the rest of the semester other than grade a few papers.

11:00-11:30 - I have a pre-made salad for dinner.

11:30 - 12:00 - I do a 20-min Pilates app. It’s extremely difficult.

12:00-1:30 - L. and I listen to Radio Retail.

1:30-2:30 - Nighttime routine and bed