Hi, I’m Steve.
You may have seen me
on other profile segments
on Road to Possible and I’m just,
you know, here talking about
life in the pandemic of 2020…
I’m a school teacher
and it’s been a rough adjustment
for not only myself,
but also my students
and my students’ parents,
because not only is there
the factor of isolation
and the uncertainty
of going outside and...
Not quite sure
what precautions to take
to remain safe,
but also then
how do we educate our kids
moving forward?
School ended for me
and for my class…
Right at the end of March Break
and we hadn’t been back…
We had distance learning,
which was an adjustment.
It was difficult
for a lot of students
not having the
interpersonal contact
with their teachers
and it was the same for me.
I missed my kids
and I know that they missed me
and by having...
Learning only through…
That portal,
it’s really difficult
to reach the kids and…
And the specific needs
that each one would have.
So if you’re a hands-on learner,
if you’re someone that needs
a teacher over your shoulder,
that aspect of...
Of learning is…
Is taken away from…
From those students
and then they’ve got to adjust
and a lot of the…
The stresses that
teachers go through every day
are then placed upon the parents
and they have to not only,
you know, educate their kids,
but they also have to then
get through their daily lives
and their work as well…
So it’s…
It’s just been pretty stressful
all the way around...
And then with the uncertainty of
school opening again in September,
even though, you know, the…
The levels of COVID infection seem
to have been decreasing in the city, it’s…
Still a challenge moving forward.
(SIGH)
Uncertainty is...
The word of the moment
at this point...
Especially when it comes to school.
There are many theories on how to
reintegrate the students
come September,
but with social distancing
and then not having any place
to really house the kids,
it’s going to be really difficult…
To really find a way to
have this be a successful venture.
But the powers that be
have their ideas,
the teachers have their ideas
and hopefully they’ll be able to
come to some sort of an agreement
that makes it safe
for everyone involved.
So the 2020 pandemic has…
Had far and wide-ranging effects
on not only people,
but also businesses as well
and for me personally…
Outside of teaching,
I also have
my self-publishing business.
So you’ve got comics
and unfortunately…
They were shut down for those
who are in the professional ranks…
With a…
An event called Pencils Down
where a lot of the publishers
stopped publishing…
During the early stages
of the pandemic...
What that did though was
it allowed independents
to continue to work
and develop their ideas.
I mean,
I was one of those people
where I was able to
kind of take a bad situation and…
And make it as positive as possible
and I used a lot of the time
where I was isolated…
Away from everybody else
and I was able to
put that into developing
and continuing some of my ideas.
While it has been
a shut down for movie productions
and in some comic book companies
in terms of producing content,
2021 is…
Is, you know,
there’s some light on the...
at the end of the tunnel there
where this year has been used
to create your ideas
and then hopefully get them
into the marketplace for next year.
The life blood of any artist
is the environment around them.
So being in Stage 3
here in Kensington,
in Toronto with the
sounds of the people,
the environment, cars,
it’s just something
that feeds the soul
and also feeds your muse.
So I’m just really happy
that we’re at this point
and hopefully we can all
work together as a community,
government…
Industry, as well as
the citizens of…
Of the city and the country
to make sure that we can beat COVID
and get back to life
as we knew before.
