SIDNEY — The unexpected virus that changed our lives forever. COVID 19 hit the world on Dec. 30, 2019, in China, and it hit Ohio on March 9, 2020. The coronavirus is similar to the flu, but it affects your respiratory system. The worldwide number of cases is 882,068 as of April 1, 2020. The question a lot of people have been wondering though is did we have it before March 9th? During winter, many people were sick with an awful flu. Now schools are shut down, people are laid off, and only drive thrus are open. Even though this pandemic has affected our world is the governor helping anyone, for example our seniors? Every age group has a different perspective on the whole topic of the Corona Virus. It all depends on what you think people would be losing.
Take it from the perspective of a grandparent. Loretta and George Middleton are 74 and 75 years old with nine grandkids and three kids. They live out in the country on the same road as their entire family. They are devastated that they cannot see their grandkids. All they do is read, watch television, and sleep every day.
Loretta Middleton has COPD and George Middleton has diabetes and heart issues, so they stay at home all the time through the crisis. They miss watching their grandkids play sports for Fairlawn Local Schools. They say it is not like they have that much time left to be using it locked up.
They think teachers are handling this online class very professionally. Loretta Middleton feels sorry for the seniors who do not get to play their final sport. They have not worried about COVID 19 since they came back to Ohio from Florida in the middle of March. Loretta Middleton thinks that the governor and the media are only showing the bad outcomes and not the good outcomes on how many people have survived from it. She thinks the continuous spread of the virus is from younger adults who think it does not affect them as they continue to socialize and travel. She feels more dependent now than before the virus because her family has to bring her groceries.
When all of this is cleared up, they cannot wait to go the Wendy’s and Clancy’s. They have a family vacation planned for June that they hope they can go to. Once it is all over, she says she is going to have a celebration with her family at her house because she loves to cook. The one thing she is going to miss about COVID 19 is how close the families have been. Most of the time the families are not close and, at this time, they are getting brought together. The parents are the ones that hold the family together.
Parent, teacher viewpoint
Is the perspective of a parent who is also a teacher different than anyone else’s? Susan Middleton is 36 years old and teaches third grade at West Liberty Salem. She lives in the country with her husband and her three kids, Wesley Middleton, who is nine, Kate Middleton, who is seven, and Emma Middleton, who is five.
Her kids were worried at first before she explained to them what they would do if they got it and how it is basically like the flu. They now know why they cannot be around anyone now. Her family has internet access so her children can do homework and she can talk to her students. Due to the COVID 19, her husband works every other week and she works from home. She is not hurt financially as her husband is forced to take personal days every other week mandated by his boss.
She thinks her students are enjoying being at home with all this technology, but she knows that they miss their friends. An advantage of being home is that she can help her students and her children at the same time. A disadvantage is that it is a new way of teaching for her as for any teacher currently. Her family schedule has been so different now that all sporting events are cancelled. Her family is always wanting to be outdoors if it is taking bike rides, shooting baskets, playing with cousins, or working on the farm.
Wesley Middleton would be in basketball and baseball, and Kate Middleton would be in baseball and volleyball. Alan Middleton, who is her husband, coaches his kids in their events. Her kids are still benefiting from staying home because she is a teacher and can help them. They have a schedule from nine to eleven to do their homework every day and they do extra fun projects as well. She is loving the family time right now. She has a vacation planned in June, and it is still up in the air if they can go.
Once the virus cure has been found, she wants to go to Cazadores and take her kids to all their sporting events. Susan Middleton does like cooking, but she says eating out is nice occasionally. She can’t wait to be able to get together with the whole family and go socialize with her friends. The one thing she is going to miss about the COVID 19 is how her schedule has been less eventful. She enjoys doing nothing at night and just watching tv with her family. She feels sorry for the seniors though who do not get to spend their last few months with their friends at school.
Students perspective
The real question is who is really being affected by this?
Cade Allison and Grace Weigandt are 18 years old and are both seniors at Fairlawn Local Schools. They both are trying to stay busy at home. They are really bummed about not having their last quarter of high school. They will not have a senior prom, skip day, pranks, walking down the hallways, senior pictures, or sports.
Grace Weigandt was curious about the whole COVID 19 pandemic because she wants to go into the medical field, and Cade Allison hopes that everyone learns from this issue. Grace Weigandt’s parents are both working but Cade Allison’s dad is on surgery leave and his mom is a sub, so she is not working right now.
An advantage of being at home is getting their work done before the due date and working at their own pace. Some disadvantages are that it is hard to keep track of all the different assignments, as well as distractions, and lack of time management. Another disadvantage is not being able to see all their friends at school for the last time. They do not think teachers like this at all. Grace Weigandt says especially teachers who have seniors in their class. Cade Allison thinks they want us at school because if we are not at school, they do not want us at all. They feel that teachers really do not know how to use the new technology, but sometimes it is overbearing and hard for them. I give the teachers credit, I for sure would not want to be a teacher right now.
Grace Weigandt is not in any sports right now, but Cade Allison is in track. He is missing it very much as well as his teammates. He wanted one more hoo-rah and one more race where he could cross the finish line. They both think this has been a big blow out on their senior year. They both agree that they are not benefiting academically from being home and getting ready for college.
Cade Allison says that he is going crazy and cannot wait to get out of the house. Meanwhile, Grace Weigandt says that she is happy that their house is big enough so everyone can have their own space and not annoy each other. Cade Allison does not have any vacations planned, but Grace Weigandt has a vacation planned for August. She is looking forward to it because it happens right before she leaves for college. When this is all over Grace Weigandt cannot wait to eat at Chipotle, and Cade Allison cannot wait to eat at Culver’s. When this is all cleared up, Grace Weigandt is going to have a bonfire with friends, and Cade Allison is going to see “the guys”. One thing Grace Weigandt is going to miss about COVID 19 is being so close with her family before she leaves for college.
Every senior wants to graduate and have all their family and friends see how much they have accomplished. When your parents look back at school, the one day they remember is their senior year, the last sport they played, their senior prom, their prank that made teachers mad, and especially graduation where you can say good bye to everyone you know before going into the work field or college. Everyone might have their own opinions on this topic but who is really losing it all. The governor may have shut everything down for the interest of keeping everyone safe, but when you look at it, we have a lot of deaths from the flu that is just like COVID 19 every year. A lot of people are recovering from the virus, but the seniors in high school and college will never get to recover the memories that they lost.
Not one senior during junior year was saying this is my last everything. Seniors would give anything to go back to school.
