Cabin fever shouldn’t quash teachers’ creativity

‘Cabin fever’ was how President Donald Trump chose to justify American citizens protesting lockdown restrictions on the steps of state capitol buildings in Austin, Lansing and Madison last week. Teachers are also feeling a little cabin fever right now: ours is brought on by a creeping sense of the life chances being denied to vulnerable students each week that schools remain closed. Mostly, we’re channeling that anxiety into more productive activities, such as planning how and when we can re-open. We’re right to do this, of course, but we are in danger of getting ahead of ourselves. Closed schools and distance learning are likely to be with us for some time. And there are both practical and pedagogical challenges to meet before we are likely to experience a return to normalcy. Practically speaking, we don’t know how long the lockdown is likely to last. The UK may follow the example of Denmark and some German states and reopen schools relatively soon, perhaps after May