I was in grade 9, when my country became the epicenter of a pandemic, the virus spread into the USA, Canada, Spain, Germany, South Korea, and then the UK. One day we woke up, and couldn’t go to school anymore. Our president advised us all to self-isolate at home, and all restaurants, stadiums, malls, stores and construction sites closed, then the unimaginable happened: all air traffic in or out of the country was restricted. 11 years have passed since the 2009 H1N1 pandemic hit México.
During the spring of 2009 online learning was not an option, the internet hadn´t even reached most Mexican homes. I imagine teachers gathering, like you are doing now, and mustering all their imagination and creativity to keep student learning.
My school in particular chose to have single subjects be worked on by students at home. My classroom was assigned “Spanish & literature 9”. I still remember who my teacher was, her name was Mrs. Orozco, an extraordinary woman who inspired students with her love of books and writing.
Before the outbreak, we had started a unit on “Magic Realism”, a literature genre native to Latin-America. Another teacher teaching the same subject, filmed herself on a DVD for students to watch at home, the 2009 equivalent of a zoom call today (minus student participation). However, Mrs. Orozco wasn´t comfortable with the recording cameras, and opted for an autodidact approach. We were instructed to read the 1989 book “Como agua para chocolate”,
written by the female Mexican author Laura Esquivel, and watch the 1993 Hollywood movie “The house of the spirits”, featuring Marilyn Streep, inspired by female Chilean novelist Isabel Ayende´s Magic Realist novel. As we read the book, we had to keep a visual journal of whatever unusual/magical events occurred in the book. After finishing both the novel and the film, we wrote an essay comparing our experience and imagination from reading contrasted to Hollywood´s portrayal and production of the Latin-American genre.
1 month later schools re-opened and we slowly went back to living social lives. To be honest I don´t remember much about the book or the movie, Magic Realism on the other hand accompanies me 11 years later. Today I am completing an MEd in Art Education, and my dissertation paper uses Magic realism as a form of narrative.
What I am trying to tell all you teacher candidates teaching in times of pandemic and social isolation, is don´t underestimate yourself, what seems like a disadvantage, might be the optimum experience for many students to learn. Be creative, and remember, when it comes to mode of delivery, there is no wrong way to teach. We are all facing uncertainty, however keep in mind that great challenges come with great possibilities.
Guest post: Marie Guillemin, Arts Education Graduate student, TLEF project assistant April 2020
