I quit teaching and I began software engineering, but the transition has come at an interesting time on Planet Earth. We are in the throes of a health crisis, a pandemic. Overnight, we went from teaching in traditional classrooms to teaching entirely online. I have a few months left to teach during the school year. Connecting with students and families the way we have now has been a hidden gift we never knew we needed. The school has address this predicament as "not ideal," but we are committed to ensuring students are still learning. This year, we won't get a chance to say a proper goodbye to our students. I will not get a chance to say a proper goodbye to my career.
Thinking about the effects of this pandemic, I am torn. On the one hand, this is an opportunity to be stuck with ourselves and sift through our thoughts, to have a new perspective from the outside of our outdoor lives. On the other hand, I worry about those who aren't as privileged with food, housing, and income security... like my mother who lives in a different stated, who I can visit for fear of inadvertently making her sick with this virus.
I am paranoid about this moment in time falling into opportunistic hands that belong to corporate, white-privileged America. I am confident that my generation will do something about it.