Tonkin to You!

 It's been a few weeks since my last blog post, and for good reason.  Accomplishing ANYTHING is simply harder during a global pandemic (imagine nodding your head in agreement to THAT sentence a year ago).  Our energy is tapped, our attention split, and our sources of anxiety have multiplied like, well, a VIRUS! As an in-person teacher, it's very easy for me to get caught up in all of my extra duties and concerns.  The classroom is no longer just a physical space but a construct; some students are there in person while others appear via Zoom video (or request recordings to view at their convenience at a later time).  The very idea of simultaneous existence in proximity to one another was stretched to its boundaries a few weeks back when I had to implement a new class rule: No attending class while driving.  Students were literally Zooming in behind the wheel.  Amidst this chaos and new responsibilities, we leaders can sometimes forget that something big...

 Saying 2020 has been a strange year is like calling the explosion of Mt. Vesuvius "a volcanic event."   It's truly hard to put the sheer amount of upheaval we've been experiencing into a few words.  At a recent music gig (yes, a real gig...in 2020), I got to speak with a bandmate; we came to the conclusion that one of the biggest sources of angst in this year of change comes from the lack of foundations.  In nearly any other year, there were certain constants we could count on.  Health.  Dysfunctional-yet-still-functioning government.  Friendships based on love and respect rather than political affiliations.  The availability of social gatherings (and the ability to safely attend).  My bandmate and I agreed that existing in 2020 was like standing on a platform made of Jell-o; step too hard, and the earth might actually move beneath your feet.  Way back in March of this year, before reality as we know it had truly begun to come apar...