Diary of Quarantine

Daily pills to help students (and families) organize their study in Covid-19 times, when almost one billion children have seen their schools close. Signed by Marcello Bramati and Lorenzo Sanna, deans and teachers at Faes high schools in Milan. As reported by Time magazine, they are teaching online during the lockdown, in an ongoing experiment in remote learning. Every morning at 8.30 a.m., their advice, tips and good practices for students of all ages.

These are days that make history. Unexpected, unpleasant, but still to be faced. That's why it may be important to take note of what we are experiencing. Hoping that the emergency will end in a reasonable time, one day we shall probably tell future generations about the 2020 coronavirus as a distant and never lived again experience.

Many people are keeping a diary of this misadventure. Today we recommend students of all ages to keep it. Someone will know how to write a diary. Someone has never thought about it. Someone does not know where to start from. Let's try to give some instruction to start from today, even if the race has already started.

If you have not yet started to take note of anything, choose a support: a notebook, a computer page, a blog to open. Or, better, a Facebook page to update every day at the same time. It's better to write than to take pictures, because emotions will come to life again when we will re-read them, in a while.

First of all, we advise you to remember the moment you heard the news that the schools would be closed. Where you were, with whom, what state of mind you were in. Remember, switch on your life's light and write.

Then, after the first phase probably similar to an unexpected holiday and a temporary privilege, the atmosphere has changed. Condense in some pages some images: remote learning, the queues at the supermarkets, the news, your thoughts on all this. Did you underestimate the situation? Were you afraid? Did you discuss at home? Remember and write it down.

Finally arrived a third phase, the one we are living now: everyone in quarantine, not so reassuring news, people in difficulty, very strong images. In this case too, we suggest to write a summary page containing fragments and episodes of home life.

Once you get to today, you can start with the daily diary. How do you spend the morning, between activities and thoughts on this situation. Then comes lunch and shopping management. Finally the time that passes, the sport that is not there, the bulletin of 18, the school that requires, the tasks at home, forced imprisonment.

Every day a page. It will be useful to take stock of the situation, to carve out a moment of reflection, which will also be a long-awaited appointment. Take yourself half an hour every day to write - on the computer or by hand - without deadlines, but only to put in writing an unforgettable period of life. That's why it's worth writing it down.