Parenting

We’re Going to be OK

/ Dave Eberwein / 1 Comment

I have never experienced anything remotely similar to this pandemic in my lifetime. When I look back in time I can find The Spanish Flu epidemic from 1918-1920. It was devasting in Canada and around the world. In our country an estimated 55,000 people died — most of them between the ages of 20-40. Interestingly, coming out of WW1 Canada lost a little more than 60,000 soldiers (1914-1918).

But, there isn’t anything more recent that resembles the world-wide pandemic we are currently living within.

Military hospital at Naden (Esquimalt, BC), c. 1919. Courtesy City of Victoria Archives

Why was the Spanish Flu so devastating? Several reasons have been mentioned (such as a lack of suitable drugs and communication), but the most significant cause was a lack of adequate quarantine measures. We also didn’t have very good coordination between the various health authorities across the country.

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Sunshine in a Time of Crisis

/ Dave Eberwein / 2 Comments

Spring Break 2020 – not the relaxing holiday I was anticipating.

March 17 – Minister Rob Fleming

On March 17th the provincial government announced that all in-class instruction was being suspended indefinitely throughout BC. School districts were suddenly being tasked with turning our primarily face-to-face teaching paradigm on its head — to move everyone into a virtual teaching platform by the end of Spring Break.

To be clear — we were not being asked to move the entire district to an on-line platform. We were not creating a system of on-line teachers and learners. We were being tasked with creating remote learning during a crisis.

There’s a difference.

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Storytelling Our Way to Better Comprehension

/ Dave Eberwein / Leave a comment
Superhero Dave

I’m thinking I was probably around 6 or 7 when I began to daydream about my superpowers — where I transported myself to a make-believe world filled with possibilities. I opened my superpowers through an invisible control panel in front of me using buttons and secret codes that gave me those amazing abilities. As an added bonus these powers came with all sorts of cool sound effects.

One of my favourite powers was being able to fly effortlessly around the neighbourhood in search of crime or people in distress. While I didn’t have a name for my new superhero alter-ego, he was able to do these incredible things and make the world a better place. He was cool.

Dave – probably around age 6 or 7

Stories, whether they are true or fictional, paint a vivid picture for your audience that are often filled with adventure, emotions and possibilities. Imagine how excited I was as a kid to occasionally live in this world of make-believe. My guess is that you might have a similar story from your childhood — a time when you imagined the impossible as possible.

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