Day 5 - LA County enters Red Tier for the first time

Look how close these desks are… Oh, and for context? The lecture hall I teach in doesn’t even have flooring…just filthy, dirty cement…

At the beginning of the month, the president from College No. 1 sent an email blast to all employees informing us that classified staff will return to campus on 3/15/21; instructors will return for a “hybrid model” for Summer session, whatever that means (no explanation was provided); and on 8/13/21 [Fall Semester 2021], the college will return to in-person instruction, business as usual, no questions asked. The email blast felt like an order. 

The Union [such as it is – this is an “open shop” here] lost their shit. 

The following week the president was back at it, only this time saying that  his previous email blast may have been “misinterpreted.” This most recent email said that classified staff would return to campus on 3/22/21 with staggered schedules and this shouldn’t be an issue since vaccines are available to all education employees, especially “since the vaccination rate is increasing with over 2 million vaccinated in the county.”

Yes, it’s great that teachers are in the mix now regarding the vaccine.  The problem is there is not enough supply for teachers.  Get this – College No. 1 sent out an URGENT email blast, with no notice, to all instructors saying that “Clock Tower Plaza” set aside 100 doses specifically for employees at College No. 1 on [specific date] at [specific time] so long as employees are over 65 and/or have pre-existing conditions.  This arbitrary criteria – implemented by whom?  Blue Shield? – just eliminated 80% of College No 1’s instructors.  Even if I wanted to go, I wouldn’t have qualified.

The president goes on to say that we HAVE to return in person because we’re down 3500 students for Spring Semester 2021. How does one equate to the other?  Maybe we’re down enrollment because, oh, I don’t know, we’re not investing in Distance Learning! After a year of Zoom education, I think many students prefer attending college this way, IF IT’s DONE CORRECTLY.

One of the biggest ironies of the “academic pandemic” is that College No. 1 is now offering DE training when our college president has mandated a 100% return to in-class instruction in just 5 months. Having just completed a 16-week Module in DE instruction through College No. 2, I am now fully equipped to teach online…not only that, I am VERY confident in my ability to deliver a professional, online product, the training was that good. But will I be able to put what I’ve learned into practice? No.

Are we all going to pretend that Distance Education never happened?  There are so many positive attributes involving this medium and I think it also revealed what a scam college is.  Why have we been forcing our teachers and students to show up at ungodly times [8:00 a.m. or 7:00 p.m., to name a few] at a filthy brick-and-mortar classroom, with horrible heating and air conditioning?  Why are we making our students purchase a parking permit only to drive around for 30 minutes looking for a space? Does in-person teaching really facilitate the learning experience? Shouldn’t we allow students to attend college when it is convenient to them, when they can fit it in around work and childcare? Driving ONE hour to teach THREE hours, from 7:00-10:00 at a janky lecture hall, crammed with 80 kids who are coughing and breathing on each other, then driving ANOTHER hour home seems so antiquated now.  Why were we doing this in the first place?

Our college president is fond of touting this quote: “We have had over 300 student athletes on campus since last Fall and competition began over two weeks ago, and we have not had a single on-campus exposure.  The student athletes are tested every Thursday and there has not been a single positive test in the three weeks of testing.”

Great. There is no comparison between in-class instruction and our athletic programs. The athletes are performing activities outside. They are NOT sitting in a classroom with no airflow for 3 straight hours.  Honestly, who cares if the athletes are clean and none of them have tested positive? The true test is whether or not there will be outbreaks when we are all FORCED to return to in-class instruction in our poorly ventilated classrooms where we are prohibited from opening our classroom doors,  per the Fire Dept. 

For whatever reason, propping open our classroom door is a fire hazard and not allowed. I’ve actually had the Fire Inspector stroll by my open classroom, remove the boulder I was using to secure the door [our college removed all door stops to prevent teachers from propping our doors open], and shut the door, while I was lecturing and class was in session. He then admonished me for having the door open on a sweltering day when the air conditioner wasn’t working. At the same time, the locks are on a mechanized timer so I’m unable to lock the classroom door from the outside. In the event there’s a mass shooting, we’re sitting ducks in here. The shooter can simply turn the knob and walk in. Nobody seems to care about that!  

But, I digress. On a positive note, College No. 2 just informed me that I was assigned a fully online, Asynchronous class for Fall Semester 2021. BUT, you know the drill…if 30 students don’t enroll, the class is canceled.  

3/19/21. Friday 

9:00 – 11:00 - I set my alarm and I’m up.  Downstairs to say good morning to the animal.  We go outside and she does her business.  There is a strange, clear-eyed pigeon that appears to be toying with the dog, perching on our retaining wall and staring at the dog. The pigeon is driving her nuts.  Back inside we go. Cheese for her, coffee for me. 

Shower. Lotion.  I wear a black turtleneck with black yoga pants. I take out my braids and go glam, putting on fake eyelashes and spackling on the make-up. 

11:00 – 3:00 – I Zoom in for my 4-hour DE class through College No. 1. I thought we would be doing a meet-and-greet, but there are over 60 people in this class.  There’s so many of us that I don’t have to show my face or talk to anybody.  This is great!   

I set up other activities to work on while I’m listening to the instructors so I can “double-dip” because I’m, allegedly, getting paid for this. I catch up on blog posts and start working on the next assignment for my French Cinema class. I make sure my Discussion Boards for College No. 1 are ready for Monday because I’ll be out of town. 

3:00-5:30- I spend this time working on my French Cinema assignment.  I have to submit a personal video of myself discussing Au Revoir and Indochine and I planned to do it today, because I knew I was “going glam.” This takes some time as I want to prepare a script first. The video can’t exceed 3 minutes so I make several attempts before ultimately submitting.

5:30-6:30 - I do light cleaning.  Dust downstairs, sweep, replace the throw on the downstairs sofa, clean the kitchen, etc. 

7:00- 9:00 - R. arrives with pizza!  I take a slice and add my quinoa recipe from a few days ago. I go upstairs and read Strangers. I had every intention of taking the dog for a walk, but I fall asleep while reading. 

10:00-11:30 – L. and I engage in an exercise to determine how many hours she has worked, taught, or been in a class involving art.  Malcolm Gladwell says you are a true master or expert if you’ve spent 10,000 hours on one thing. L. started taking art classes when she was 4 and she never stopped.  Along the way, she took art classes in high school, became an art teacher, and is now taking numerous art classes in college. 

After numerous calculations, we determine that L., at the tender age of 19, has logged in an impressive 2300 hours in her craft. It looks like becoming an artist is her destiny. 

11:30-12:30 – I do an Insanity workout.  This one is called Pylometric Cardio Circuit. I make it through and only stop for a couple of extra seconds a few times. 

12:30-1:30 – Recover and I read Strangers  and have a glass of champagne. 

1:30-2:30 – Kitchen duty. I take the dog out and lock up. 

2:30-3:00 – Night time routine. Bed.