Tara Weinberg, USA
Hello from Ashland, Oregon! I’m Tara Weinberg; it’s nice to (virtually) meet you 🙂 I am writing to you from my home office/classroom to give you an idea of how life has changed since the pandemic struck. I am an English Language teacher at St. Mary’s School in Medford. Our school is unique in that we have a dorm that houses up to 54 international students. The majority of these students come from China; other students are from Korea, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia, and Thailand. In January of 2020, before COVID hit the states, my colleagues, students, and I were keenly aware of the risk of this insidious virus.
Some of our students are from Wuhan, where the virus originated. We watched the Chinese media (both government-run and social) with our students, listened to first-hand accounts from families in China, and waited anxiously as this pandemic unfolded. By the time it arrived in Washington state at the end of January, St. Mary’s was in full preparation mode. By the time March 2020 rolled around, we
were training for online teaching. It has been nearly a year since I have taught from home. While many teachers have gone back to teaching in person, most of my students have opted to stay online, so I remain online as well. While teaching essay writing to English language learners on Zoom has its challenges, I’m actually enjoying the freedom I have teaching from home.
Like teaching, my “other world” has also shifted somewhat. For a short while, COVID brought my family back together under the same roof. My husband, who is also a high school teacher, taught from home. Now he teaches online from his classroom. Both of my sons came home to finish up their college studies and have since moved on to their careers. While 2020 was a year filled with much strife, that time together was definitely a silver lining. We did what we love to do together – cook, eat, hike, explore new places (not far from home), and watch movies/documentaries.
Another shining light to emerge from this pandemic has been learning to gather in different but meaningful ways: A group of friends and I meet weekly for a walk; I meet monthly with my long-standing book club on Zoom instead of in person, and our Ashland Jivana group also meets on Zoom, which is working out nicely. Because of my work schedule, I have never been able to travel to India to take part in the yearly retreat. Through the generosity of the Sadvidya Foundation and Ācārya, I have relished and am so grateful for Ācārya’s heartfelt and inspiring online teachings. For this, I am truly blessed.
