Quarantine diaries: Teaching, and interacting, through a screen

CBC Montreal wants to know how you are living these days. What are you doing differently? Have you learned, realized or observed anything? What do you wish you knew a month ago? Two months ago?

This is Christianne Loupelle's story. She is a teacher at Trafalgar School for Girls, and is also part of the most vulnerable segment of the population.

I am an immuno-suppressed person with very weak lungs, so COVID-19 has meant a great deal of social isolation. I have not been to a store in almost a month, but grocery and prescription deliveries have been a blessing, as have thoughtful friends and neighbours who have offered to help out.

Anything coming into my home is carefully disinfected, and I have a strict hand-washing policy and other procedures that I follow. The isolation has been a hard pill to swallow. In my line of work, I am so used to interacting with so many people every day that this forced separation from others has been a lot tougher than I ever imagined it would be.

My school was pretty quick to get classes up and running online, so I teach from 10 a.m. to noon and meet with students for support in the afternoon. Being able to regularly interact with my students and colleagues online has been a real gift this past month, and it's really made this whole ordeal so much more manageable.

-Christianne Loupelle