Today I am sending in my daughter’s survey response. She gets to say if she wants to have “in-person” classes (only two days a week maximum) or “online classes” (never going into the school at all).
It’s for her to express her thoughts to the staff at the high school. There are, of course, no guarantees that what she wants is going to be available. Everything is still very much up in the air.
It gives the two of us a chance for some serious discussion. She loved online learning—she got better grades without the social distractions of being in the school building. But she also loves being around friends, having sports and participating in hands-on classes like photography and ceramics.
Mostly, the whole situation makes us all realize how much we just don’t know and simply do not control. The only thing we can truly call our own decision right now is how we react. We do still control the way we feel, even when everything else seems up for grabs.
It strikes me that this is one of those life lessons that we all confront eventually. Right now, every person, in every country—literally all around our globe—is frustrated with at least one aspect of life under COVID-19. Nobody likes to be reminded that things are “not in your control”. But it seems to me that we have one silver lining here, too: we all are in this together.