Only a year ago, children were thrilled that the last day of school was almost here. This year, it is Thursday June 25, 2020, and it seems like some imaginary story. I guess the school calendar for 2019-20 will become an historical document. What I do imagine for the fall school year of 2020-2021 is repeated scenarios of interrupted sessions due to outbreaks with closures for cleaning and sanitizing. Wash your hands is the new mantra for this year.
The Father of Handwashing - Ignaz Semmelweis - has received a lot of press during COVID-19. His findings of reduced death rates in the hospital obstetrical clinic due to hand washing was considered extreme and out of synch with medical opinions at the time. In the mid 1800's, bloodlettings was the main treatment. The rejection of his empirical observations is named the 'Semmelweis effect'. This is the tendency to automatically reject new evidence or knowledge because it contradicts established norms, beliefs, or paradigms. You can imagine that it took decades for the medical profession to make the changes, because they believed that the hands of a gentleman would not be able to transmit disease.
No garden tours this summer - this is last year's tour of the John Street heritage house in Niagara-on-the-Lake.
No comments:
Post a Comment