R3 x Distance Learning

Spring 2020

Purpose

Living in the here and now, sometimes we don’t always recognize that history is being made around us. The coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2 (which causes a disease known as COVID-19), is no exception. Life as we know it has been turned upside down and all of us are making changes to our daily lives based on the best available knowledge we have about this disease. Yet, this is not the first time in history that this has happened. Just over 100 years ago in 1918, people were dealing with a similar situation with the Spanish Influenza outbreak (though it did not originate in Spain, but that is a story for another time). In the late 1340s, people throughout Afro-Eurasia were dealing with another pandemic, the Black Death. One thing that connects these two pandemics is that some of the people at these times wrote down what was happening and how they were dealing with what felt like, “the world was crumbling into ruin”. These written sources are of extreme value to historians today, so that they can examine how people of the past either successfully, or in some cases unsuccessfully, dealt with these situations and apply them to the events happening today. For future generations, we want them to be able to understand what life was like during the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, and that is where you will come in.

Process

Over the course of the next few weeks, you are going to actually “DO” history. Each week you will be given a thematic writing prompt that relates to the coronavirus pandemic and an aspect of daily life. Your weekly task will be to write a short, 2-page reflection / response that addresses the writing prompt. These journal reflections will be graded for credit and will be combined into a larger collective journal that will eventually be bound and published into a book called, “Voices from the Valley: Student Reflections on the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic of 2020”. This book will have a preface and chapter introductions written by prominent members of our community and will be dedicated to the Granada Hills Charter Class of 2020. Copies will be distributed to the GHC Library, the Los Angeles Public Library, the Oviatt Library at CSUN, and the Los Angeles County Archives so that future generations can have a first-hand account of what life was like during this time in history.

Prompts

Weeks 1 / 2: "A New Normal" (Due March 29, 2020)

What has life been like over the past week or two? What are some changes that have taken place in your daily routine? What about the others around you? Are your family members working from home? How are you feeling? How are you doing?

Week 3: "Religion in Time of Social Distancing" (Due April 3, 2020)

One of America’s most safely guarded rights is the right to practice religion freely. For many people, that often means either a daily or weekly visit to some house of worship such as a temple, mosque, synagogue, or church. With social distancing, this has changed the way that some people have chosen to worship. Has your worshiping routine been impacted by the pandemic? If so, explain what your “new normal” is in terms of worshiping.

If you do not have a religious routine, please read this article and respond to this prompt: The First Amendment to the United States Constitution reads, in part, Congress shall make no law prohibiting the free exercise of religion. Are officials in the United States justified in closing places of worship during this pandemic?

While we have been flexible with your writing format during these first weeks, we will be transitioning to hand-written journal entries and Google Docs as a way to document the history around you. Photographs and your personal sketches and drawings are still encouraged. Additionally, beginning with your Week 3 assignment, your writing will be read by your teachers. Please continue to be honest with your thinking. Grading will continue to be done on a credit/no credit basis and your weekly requirement remains unchanged: two pages of writing, approximately 500-750 words.

Week 4: "Individual Rights and Responsibilities" (Due April 17, 2020)

While many people have taken social distancing seriously others have continued to express their right as a citizen to go where they want and when they want. (In fact, some of you have been writing about going to the beach or playing basketball with your friends during your time away from school.) In your opinion, is this a time where the rights of the individual needs to make way for the good of the entire community? Or, do you believe that policies like “Safer at Home” run counter to the basic freedoms Americans have enjoyed for centuries?

Read one or more of the following articles and then tell us what you think.

Coronavirus Quarantine: Personal Freedom Versus Greater Public Good

Civil liberties in the time of coronavirus

A ‘Liberty’ Rebellion in Idaho Threatens to Undermine Coronavirus Orders

Remember, we’re looking for 500-750 words. Please make a claim, connect it to your personal life, and defend it using evidence and analysis.

Week 5: "Credible Sources and Fact Checking" (Due April 24, 2020)

As you know, determining the reliability of a claim or source is an important skill that we want you to be able to use outside of the classroom. With information about the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic constantly changing, it is absolutely critical to understand that some information needs to be claim tested before you can make a decision one way or the other. What’s more, there are individuals and institutions actively releasing disinformation in an attempt to achieve more destructive goals. For example, a new study revealed that nearly 30% of Americans (+100 million people) believe that the coronavirus was made in a lab.

For this assignment, find a claim being made about the coronavirus, or something related to the pandemic, and explain what you believe about the claim. Think about how scientists or politicians are addressing the claim and, more importantly, think about how you know if something is true or not.

If you’re struggling to find a topic, here are a few to get you thinking.

COVID-19 is caused by 5G wireless towers

Ibuprofen and the coronavirus

Heat kills the coronavirus

Nearly 30% of Americans believe coronavirus was made in a lab, Pew poll shows

Africans are being used to test a new coronavirus vaccine

School students will have to repeat the 2019-2020 school year

Also, the City of Los Angeles recently published an entire website devoted to disproving myths and misinformation about the coronavirus.

Week 6 : "Racism and the Coronavirus Pandemic" (Due May 1, 2020)

Across the United States right now, people are feeling isolated and afraid. As schools and businesses close, people are worrying about their health, their families, their jobs and their future. All of these worries make sense, and of course there’s nothing wrong with being afraid. But as people share news, fears and concerns, some people are sharing something else, as well: racism and xenophobia.

Obviously, Chinese people are not responsible for a virus simply because the first reported cases were in China. But some politicians and media figures have taken to referring to the “Chinese Coronavirus.” They’ve used stereotypes about the different foods people eat around the world or made jokes that rely on “Chinese-sounding” words or phrases to make light of the crisis and somehow suggest that Chinese people are to blame. Some have even gone so far as to suggest that China should apologize for the virus.

While it might be tempting to think we should just shake this kind of language off and focus on larger concerns, the truth is that racist and xenophobic words have real-world effects. Across the U.S., Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders report being harassed at school, in stores, on the streets and on the subway. Last month in London, a Singaporean man was assaulted, kicked and punched by a man who said, “I don’t want your coronavirus in my country.”

Unfortunately, issues of racism and discrimination also make up another layer of this pandemic. Long-term and structural racism and discrimination have caused black and brown populations to be affected to a greater degree than white or Asian populations. For students of history, you should know that racism in times of crisis is not a new phenomenon.

For this week’s prompt, we ask you to consider the effects of racism you have observed during the pandemic. It might be something as simple as a “joke” on social media, or something you have seen on news / television. It might be something that has happened to you or a family member. It might be something you have seen during one of your essential trips to the store. How did you respond, what did you think? How should you have responded (in French, this is called esprit de l'escalier - or staircase wisdom - when you think of the right thing later, on the stairs)?

Remember, we’re looking for 500-750 words. Please make an observation, connect it to your personal life, and compare it to something documented in an online source. Feel free to address multiple claims, if that helps you reach your word count.

Week 7 : "The Absence of Sports, Movies, and Entertainment" (Due May 8, 2020)

Throughout history, people have tried to distract themselves from the problems in their daily lives. This was evident in the times of ancient Rome with the gladiator games that entertained the people even as barbarians were attacking the walls surrounding Rome. It was also evident during the Great Depression as people flocked to “talkie” movies to escape the economic hardships that faced them in their daily lives. For billions of enthusiastic fans, sports have long been a great escape, but with COVID-19 shutting down all major and collegiate sports, theatres, concerts and events, these types of entertainment are not an option for us for the foreseeable future.

As all of us know, living in a pandemic can make us feel anxious and bored. What have been some of your great escapes for dealing with the new reality of social distancing and isolation? Have you escaped into a new book, new music, playing video games, or have you taken up a new hobby? How are you entertaining yourself during the pandemic?

Remember, we’re looking for 500-750 words. Please organize your writing into multiple paragraphs, this will make it much easier for a reader to follow your ideas and line of reasoning.

Week 8: "Thanking Those Who Care for Us" (Due May 15, 2020)

During the pandemic, most of us are learning and working from home. However, there are some people who have jobs that they have to report to because their jobs are essential in order for society to continue functioning. Some of these jobs actually put people in direct contact with potentially contracting COVID-19, thus putting these people in harm’s way on a daily basis. Some of these people include doctors, nurses, EMTs, police, firefighters, and other first responders. But it also includes people working at grocery stores, transportation workers, caregivers, and restaurant workers who make sure we can continue to get the supplies we need to function. Essential workers also include garbage collectors, construction workers, delivery workers, and bus and train drivers who allow many essential workers to get where they need to go.

Some of you live with (or, for seniors, you might actually be) these essential workers. They might include your parents, aunts and uncles, or your siblings. Others may not live with essential workers but are benefiting from their work. Here are some resources to help you think about the courageous and heroic work that these people are doing.

NY Times Essential Worker Interactive

Regular Heroes Docuseries | Prime Video

One List of Essential Workers

Write a letter of thanks to an essential worker who is risking their life to keep our society going in these dangerous times. This worker may be someone you know, or someone you don’t know. While there is not a minimum word count for you to reach this week, we do require that your letter consist of three separate paragraphs.

Week 9: "The Economics of the Pandemic" (Due May 22, 2020)

This week, you will learn about the economic fallout that happens when people are home bound for an unspecified amount of time. Then you will explore how federal, state and local governments; large corporations; and even individuals might pitch in to help.

Open the assigned Google Doc to get started!

Week 10: "Looking to the Future" (Due May 29, 2020)

As our course and school year draw to a close, reflection can help bring closure to the events of this year. Over the past 9 months, each of you has experienced a wide spectrum of emotions ranging from joy and love to fear and anxiety. Your experiences and feelings are your reality and they can inform your vision of the future. In this week’s assignment you are going to think about the future and, more importantly, you are going to think about your future.

Here are some prompts to help you do some “future” history.

What has your experience during the pandemic taught you about yourself? How has your experience changed the way you think about the future? The pandemic is an unfinished story. In the final chapter, you will put together everything you’ve learned about the pandemic and use it to consider the future. How will humans innovate to help our economy recover? How will we balance the complexity of our world with its apparent fragility? What will happen next? What scales of time do you want to consider (the next few months? / the next 1-4 years? / the next 10 years? / the next 100 years?)

As you organize your response, we suggest the following outline.

  • A paragraph about yourself

    • What did you learn about yourself during the pandemic?

    • How has your thinking about yourself, school, or your surroundings changed during the pandemic?

    • Has anything changed about what you consider to be important?

  • A paragraph about the future

    • What scale of time will you use?

    • What will our society do?

    • What will happen next?

  • A concluding paragraph

    • Advice for future students

    • An important quote that you want to reflect upon

    • Your overall thoughts about the last few months

    • Your overall thoughts about the future

As usual, we’re looking for a minimum of 500-750 words in your response (organized into at least three paragraphs). Remember to connect your writing to online sources of information if you are struggling to meet the word count.