School is starting on Monday for me – maybe it’s already started for you, or maybe you’re not getting started till after Labor Day – and here we are, facing a new wave of COVID-19 risks and need for mitigation strategies.
I’m starting my school year observing local and national recommenced mitigation strategies. These include:
- wearing a mask indoors (even though I’m vaccinated, and so are most/all of my students).
- maintaining some separation.
- enforcing all requirements by our school district (they currently have no mask requirements, though they recommend masks for all students and highly recommend them for teachers and staff.)
That’s Part 1 of how I’m starting the school year – mitigation. I have done and will do everything in my power to reduce the spread of this disease, because I have an unvaccinated child at home, and because I don’t know who in my classes has someone immunocompromised or otherwise vulnerable in their lives. I am being vigilant not to protect myself, but to protect the people around me and the people around them.
Part 2 is behavior/mood.
My mood is good – I am optimistic that I’ll be able to provide more of the joy of music-making this year than in 2020-21. I believe we will find ways to have more concerts, to make singing together feel more natural, to share our love of music with each other. I am not at all afraid, thanks to my vaccination status, that my experience with COVID-19 will be severe, should I have a breakthrough case.
It’s not a normal year – we have to be responsible in trying to overcome this pandemic – but I am confident that we will make it more normal than last year.
Mostly, I am excited to make music.