Homeschool days #coronaschool pic.twitter.com/GmTOk6TSTR— A. Cedric Armstrong (@cedteaches) April 4, 2020
I also don’t want to pay tuition for a child who
hasn’t gone to school since just before spring break. Maybe that planned summer
break with Grandma becoming a reality before kindergarten begins as we are kind
of privileged in having a local grandparent who wants to spend time with her
only granddaughter.
Kids in
Caeli's age range -- between 4 and 6 or 7 -- represent a unique parenting
challenge during self-quarantine. They are old enough to understand something
is wrong -- that their lives have been disrupted -- but not the level of
seriousness, or how long the disruption might last. At the same time, many of
them are not old enough to have intensive school assignments to routinize long
portions of their days -- or to play immersive video games that knock hours off
the schedule.
Instead, she wants to
play ALL DAMN DAY LONG. Because this is what she is used to – the
bouncing to and from one activity to the next – it also presents a unique
challenge: Cleaning up before we do the
next thing. One day, Caeli decided that she wanted to play with Play-Doh during
the morning across the kitchen table from my wife who is dutifully checking
email and performing whatever tasks that get sent over through whatever
software system her department is currently using. As soon as lunchtime comes
around, she hops out of her chair and picks up a loaf of bread and a half-empty
bottle of Johnny Fair cane syrup [Sidebar:
If you’re from the country, you know Johnny Fair is the best syrup and
where to get it, bar none. Depending on how one may categorize Malvern,
Arkansas, it does fit into the country narrative in the context of my writings].
Anyway, there is Play-Doh everywhere: Of
course, it’s on the table, underneath her chair on the floor, and even on the
paper plate we planned on using for bread and syrup! I become a one-man tour de
force, cleaning machine wiping down table space, the seat, and making sure
Caeli wash her hands before she puts one slice of white bread to syrup. I’m
just grateful she doesn’t want another package of chicken-flavored Ramen
noodles.
I also have to give a
huge thank-you to Governor Asa Hutchinson for the daily updates pertaining to
the coronavirus for the general public to understand how serious this virus is
to our most vulnerable members of our state – the older citizens and those with
chronic conditions (not from smoking the chronic) such as cancer, asthma, and
Type I diabetes. While I did not vote for him in either of his winning
campaigns and would have remained in Connecticut had he defeated Mike Beebe in
2006, you have to salute a man who genuinely loves Arkansas in spite of the
Trumpers that hate anything resembling progress coming out of the woodwork
since 2008 and a Tea Party which has dissipated since January 20, 2017 – Black
people know why but again, this is not the appropriate forum for my political
opinions.
All kids need at
least a half-hour outside to play; due to us not having enough information of
the COVID-19, we’ve been reluctant to letting Caeli play with the other
neighborhood kids…until Wednesday. Our only child was losing it having to stay
cooped up inside all day long until she asked to play basketball. All I had to
do is park Bubba Gump (the nickname for my 2nd generation Ram
pickup) in the street, and we had a clear driveway to shoot baskets. After a
few bounces, it seemed like every kid on our side of the subdivision magically
came outside to play, each with varying boundaries of where and how far to go.
Hint: They went only as far as we
parents could see them, or in Caeli’s case, two houses down in either
direction. If a car turned out of the old cul-de-sac toward our set of houses,
the kids have been taught not only to yell “Car!” but also to stand on one side
of the street until the car passes by. For some, outdoor recess was a regular
part of the day; for others, it became a treat.
The moment you finally recognize that the game doesn't quite love me back the way I loved it as a teen and throughout my twenties. Glad my back isn't hurting today #hoopdreams #ilovethisgame #basketball #FatherTimeIsUndefeated #dadgameproper #coronacation pic.twitter.com/X3i0Bel9cL— A. Cedric Armstrong (@cedteaches) April 1, 2020
Kids are generally
unaware of personal space particularly those who are preschool age. Having to endure
quarantine – or better, giving Little Miss Sunshine a hula hoop to wear around
the house – presents a lesson for her to not only recognize others’ boundaries as
she acknowledges her own little bubble is not for everyone to enter.
As we adapt to a whole
new world that will shape our children’s outlooks and potentially his and her futures
- one that is strange even by 2020 standards – a few takeaways will come from
this pandemic:
1.
Many of
the things we deem vital will either be streamlined or become irrelevant.
2.
People
who treat the least of these unfairly will reap the consequences for decades.
We see you, Hobby Lobby.
3.
More
churches will have to accept a seismic shift in how worship services are
conducted, particularly in the Black church. This means reaching the
congregation where it was unthinkable just a month ago; the sick-and-shut-in
members really need the availability of a full worship experience not limited
to the sermon or using tithes and offering apps alone. Some traditions are
going to have to be placed on the back burner until a vaccine is found, and
perhaps a few can remain in the dustbins of the past.
4.
As the
Trump Administration has consistently shown, there are three sides to a
story: Your side, my side, and the
truth. Research (and thorough study) will be paramount moving forward in an age
which the media is distrusted greatly as a result of our First Amendment rights
being eroded before our very eyes. In other words, expect to question
everything.
5.
For those
who commute to work: Do you really need
to be there now that working from home has become a thing? It also blurs the
lines between work and life; setting definite hours will be a must.
6.
Will our
kids still want to become actors, professional athletes, entertainers, or will
they have a change of heart for a life of service toward others, such as
teachers, nurses, small business owners, etc. as unfettered capitalism and
white supremacy conspire to destroy the world once and for all? We understand
survival of the fittest, but why are some of the companies in the best
financial conditions and not paying taxes begging for bailouts and stimuli to
please their shareholders? The people who make stupid money doing little to
nothing except living on inherited wealth and the backs of labor are not the
heroes to emulate.
7.
Secondhand
stores are really going to struggle for a while, but like any other period in
recent American history, they will come back sharper than before.
8.
Family
matters. Period.
9.
We are
going to become some great cooks and carpenters when this is said and done.
10. As tech-savvy as we have become, there may be a
few good ol’ fashioned things we might have to relearn letter writing and good
manners, chiefly among others. I won’t dare become above using cassettes to
listen and record music – Generation Xer here – yet the babies will not
understand the struggle of catching the radio at the perfect moment or later,
lugging around those 100+ count CD cases, carefully curated and the visceral
reaction when an album is either scratched or missing.
One may surmise this
as a survival of the fittest or Darwinism at work; therefore, most of us will
be fine. Do check on the community elders and your parents as we are now
navigating their health and wellness in addition to our children’s upbringings
and our own adult relationships.
Once again (and I don't care if you're tired of this):— A. Cedric Armstrong (@cedteaches) April 1, 2020
Wash your hands.
Wash your ass.
Practice social distancing.
Take care of yourself - and each other.
I ❤💚🖤 all y'all. #PSA #coronacation
