The university recently sent a rather long survey to three years of next year's undergraduates asking their opinions on various scenarios for next academic year, the one that starts roughly three months from now. Last night, the professor husband got the analogous survey for faculty. It's pretty clear from that survey that the university plans to be open for in-person instruction. The questions were all about scheduling classes save for one on possible mitigation measures. In terms of mitigation, a list was presented that included quarantining if exposed. Faculty were asked to comment on the list of measures and offer any not listed. I suggested that the husband respond that if he were supposed to quarantine, the university should pay for him to do so somewhere other than home. I haven't been hermitting so seriously only to have him bring something home when he comes to quarantine.
Some of the scheduling options sounded better than others. It was clear that online instruction would be an option. How about evening classes to deal with time zone differences? Evening classes up until now have traditionally been limited to continuing education and the rare graduate class or two. How about weekend instruction? Does this make anyone else think of Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday classes to go with the Monday-Wednesday-Friday ones? How about classes at different times, as in 1:00 pm on Monday and Friday with the Wednesday class being at 9:00 am? Also mentioned were shifting fall semester classes to the two-week long between-semesters January term or shifting spring semester classes to summer terms.
Bringing students back assumes that said students are willing to wear masks and practice social distancing. Apparently, there was a large party at a frat house just yesterday with students on a balcony standing shoulder to shoulder. Drinking beer--or any other liquid--through a mask might be difficult. I would love to know how the university administration plans to enforce mitigation measures. They can plan all they want, but I don't expect those plans to be successful.
In other news, today's Space X launch was scrubbed due to weather. The next launch window comes on Saturday. Fingers crossed all goes well.
1 comment:
I have a second year at home now. He has no idea what they will be doing next year. I can't see them getting back to emsemble playing anytime soon, not with all those wind instruments with water valves. September still seems a long way away.
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