Grass is always greener on the other side.

By Tatiana Popa, Chisinau, Moldova

Three months felt like three years.

Just at the beginning of the lockdown, at the beginning of March, when the government announced that we would be teaching from home, it was a huge change in the minds and lives of everybody.

I was asked to deliver a webinar at the national level, about how to use Google tools– Google classroom, Google Meet. The webinar was recorded and circulated by the Ministry of Education and got lots of views.

But the next day, I had to respond to comments on Facebook. Not only did I have to explain how to use the tools, I also had to comfort the teachers who were complaining about having to teach from home, because they have families and children, and they didn’t think they could stay inside for so long.

I was trying to suggest things for them, saying, “Well, you can go outside into your garden to see how the plants are growing or admire the sky.”

They said, “Those who have a garden are lucky, but we don’t all have gardens.”

I am a single mother of two. I struggle a lot, because I am torn in different directions. I want to do meaningful things, to be a good mother, a good teacher, a good daughter and friend. But it’s very difficult; the level of energy I give is enormous.

When those teachers were talking about the problems of why they could not do remote teaching, I thought about my life before the pandemic.

I woke up at 5:30 a.m. every morning to get to school by 8 a.m. I needed to get my daughters dressed, their hair arranged, make sandwiches, and leave. And the long days in school until late.

Now, in this pandemic, everybody should understand that each of us is struggling, and we should try to comfort each other and help each other as much as possible. These are unprecedented times! If others can do it, I can do it too!

Regarding remote teaching, I am always remind people, “If you can stay on Facebook all day and scroll through posts, then to use the online teaching tools is not a problem. It is the same principle, you just need to make use of digital tools to deliver your lesson.”

I think Moldovan teachers are doing a great job in this crisis. The level of solidarity to overcome this difficult situation is at its highest. Moaners can learn from all the rest. We are all super humans, in this COVID-19 pandemic!