Living in Japan, with the source of the outbreak rather nearby, I’ve been worried about ‘coronavirus’ since pretty early on. Being a school teacher, with my own children attending the same school, response to coronavirus has been central to our daily lives.
Apprehension and concern mounted.
That evening, Prime Minister Abe announced that schools should close, upending our lives instantly. Our school complied and we went home at the end of the week not knowing when we would be back. Working from home, and supporting my children’s learning at home, have been mind-opening, including stimulating attempts at big ideas.
Spending a great deal of my time for the past twelve years caring for children has changed and limited my philosophical thinking. Being home with more time and attention for my own thoughts has allowed me to think more coherently. At least it feels that way.
All of my event plans were cancelled, putting me in a relatively safe space to practice almost total social isolation. Like many people, I tried using Twitter to spread useful information and resources.
I blogged about my experiences with remote teaching in the post, Emergency Distance Learning: What’s working (and what’s not), in an effort to help those whose schools would be closing soon.
Many of our customs and lifestyle conventions may have harmless sources, but their effects could be hurting. Since living in a country where shoes are never worn inside, for example, made me realize how filthy and disgusting it is to track the sewage, bacteria, and dirt we collected on the soles of our shoes into our homes. Another custom I question is hand-shaking. What sense is there to touch hands with strangers?
I might be premature, but reflecting on coronavirus should motivate us all to spend more time considering reality and less time seeking distraction.
Overall, coronavirus has exposed flaws and weaknesses in our leadership, infrastructure, and philosophy. How we live depends on things remaining normal, and then we constantly build upon that normalcy. But that’s an unreliable foundation. What would be better? I have my ideas, and all of this time at home is helping me to organize and articulate them.
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Feeling relatively comfortable with spending so much time at home after almost a month, at least my worry has subsided. But this isn’t over yet.
The Examined Life 