Mike O'Connell

The global pandemic that resulted from the Covid-19 virus was one of the most heinous and wicked events of the past half century or so. Beyond rampant illness and death there was the social costs of isolation and anxiety perhaps unparalleled in the 21st century. In my own field of education I’ve seen an entire generation of students with what I would call irrevocable “learning loss.” No amount of “catching up” will ever take the place of missed classroom learning.

I’ve said previously that I don’t think the pandemic will truly be “over” until everyone who was a K-12 student in 2020 and 2021 has graduated from high school.

Even then, I’m still going to point to where they used to have those bins of free cookies at Harris Teeter and say, “Right there. That’s why the pandemic will never really be over.”

At the top of every episode of Math and Musings I promote the proceedings as 15 minutes of “science, politics, news, and opinion.” On today’s episode (called simply “Science Lesson”) I stick to the first one.

Today marks the 60th anniversary of the March on Washington, the event everyone knows by its highlight, remarks by Dr. Martin Luther King that included the phrase “I have a dream.” Apparently it wasn’t even part of the original speech; sort of worked out though, no?

This past Saturday I happened to be on the Mall in D.C., in the place where Dr. King spoke those words. Sort of by happy accident I witnessed a commemoration of the 1963 event, which included, among others, remarks from Martin Luther King III. Sometimes you just get lucky in seeing these things.

Case in point the following morning, as I’m still in D.C., this time at the National Zoo. Whom do I see but Tian Tian, better known as “one of the pandas” on loan from China. Yeah, on loan, apparently, and 20 years later now China is getting him back. Sunday was his birthday (26–God I’d love to be 26), and once again I stumbled upon a celebration marking an occasion. Last birthday in America. Tian Tian seemed as surprised as I.

Sometimes you go looking for entertainment, and sometimes it finds you I guess. If you’re going to be good or lucky, choose lucky.

‘Round these parts today’s the last day of “summer vacation,” a quaint 20th-century phrase describing the months plowing the corn fields or whatever we did before smartphones.

There’s another quaint phrase from one of this century’s great philosophers, Craig Williams. You know him as Craig… of the Creek.

Craig once opined that Summer’s over but we still have the weekend.

Wise words. Actually we have weekends, holidays, and every single evening. Heck, school can be fun sometimes too.

Every time you get home from being out of town you think How can I make my regular life more like vacation?

Exactly.

This is the year we never turn off the fun of summer.

To borrow another 20th-century phrase…

this is the Endless Summer.

Today on Math and Musings I’m flying solo, but continuing the conversation begun last week with my son. Don’t worry, I still used him as a consultant on the episode.

Uncredited and unpaid.