Perhaps it was because almost no one went to church this morning: Papa is still not feeling confident enough in his strength to risk it, L was sick, and K was worried that E would be too tough to control and keep in the same line she was planning for herself at church: touch nothing, nothing at all.

Perhaps it was the simple anticipation of an announcement we all knew was coming. “My guess is they’ll try to get through the next couple of weeks, then send everyone home for an early spring break,” K said last week. “Or at least through next week — it is a short week with Friday being a scheduled teacher work day.” Still, with all the alarm over the potential of this pandemic, we knew an announcement would likely come this afternoon or evening.

At any rate, when the announcement came at 2:30 that the governor would have a press conference at 4:00, we knew what was up.

Once that happened, I jumped on the computer and loaded up my book request queue to get some books from the local library system before everything shut down for good. Everyone else is hoarding toilet paper. I want to make sure I have something to read.

After that (and only after — priorities), I began checking my work email regularly. Finally, this: “The Governor has just announced all schools in South Carolina will close immediately in response to COVID-19. As you know, we have been preparing for this eventuality.”

What will we be doing? Is this vacation? Of course not, nor should it be:

At this point in the closure, teachers must be available during normal working hours throughout the closure to respond to student questions beginning Wednesday. Teachers are paid for this time and are required to be responsive and accessible via electronic means. […] During the closure teachers should catch up on paperwork, data entry, grading, or electronically delivered professional development. This will also be a great opportunity to plan for accelerating lessons upon students’ return.

Yet how much actual learning will be possible during this time? I have students who are motivated to work only when I’m standing over them, and one or two who don’t even work then. What will they do during this extended period of distance learning?

We’ll find out tomorrow.