Is it time to change?

?I get up early these days to take the dog out to the toilet. It’s probably not necessary any more but it does give me time to do a bit of sewing blog and get my act together for the day. It means the alarms on my phone go off after I am up. Today the alarm is 7.30am, it is there to make sure I get to class on time. Except of course it’s been nearly 3 months since I taught a class. More importantly it is going to be another 3 months before I am teaching in person again. Maybe longer, I suppose. I have looked at the government guidance for safe teaching. Unless halls massively drop their rents I either have to double the fees or not rent village halls and community center. I simply can’t fit in the number of people needed to make it economically viable. Let’s say that is resolved one way or another, there is then the cleaning issue. I am responsible for making sure anything students come into contact with is clean. So before each class I have to wash doors, sockets switches tables and chairs. The anti bacterial surface wipes are useless, it needs to be cleaning with either soap or alcohol cleaner. If it is alcohol it has to be left 20min to be sure the virus has been killed, soap is quicker but much more tricky to use on electrical items.  How do I treat the cloth chairs, do I need to make several sets of chair covers so I can wash them at home? Every student would need their own iron and ironing pad. Those irons would need regular pat testing. For safety every student also needs their own extension lead too, it’s another point of contact, oh and yes they each need their own wall socket. That will further reduce the number of people in most halls. What about the chewing gum on tables? Am I responsible for making sure that is removed too? It is a clear hazard if it is recent and how do you prove that other than by constantly removing it.

Once we have the room set up we have to get the students in, while maintaining 2m distance. That will mean bringing people in in order. Multiples trips to bring in a lot of bags won’t work any more. Not sure queuing out side innthe winter will be popular either, but if we have to load in order it’s needed. Tea and biscuits are over on several grounds, and even bringing your own washing up at the hall is out. Washing up can spread the virus. As can toilets, there is no way I can monitor public toilets while teaching. Some don’t even have kids for safer flushing, and in a rented space I can’t predict or control who uses them or how. For now I  wouldn’t be one of the allowed businesses, and by the time that changes we will be well into summer term, but I have to admit I am worried. I don’t foresee massive relaxing of the distancing rules by September, and that is a real killer for classes.

What I am going to do is start some online sessions. Bear in mind this is new to me as well as most of my students. So it will be a slow start to find the pattern that works. I am going to start with a weekly session to discuss the options for the Monday quilt. It will mostly be an ideas session. Discussing what could be done with the challenge we have been set and how we could make the things we come up with. There will be no requirement to actually make the quilt, this will be far more about design and planning. I will limit the number of people in the group, and I will try to find a time that works for as many of those interested as possible. If you would like to take part in this comment here and I will discuss possible times with you and make sure you are invited to the session. Oops missed an important bit of information, I will be using Google meet. On a computer that will just be a matter of going to a link I send you. On a mobile device you will need to download the Google meet app. Why this choice? It seems to be the most secure of the free options. That’s not a resounding vote of confidence, just a statement on least worst from the best advice I have. No I will not switch to zoom.