Knowledge and Wisdom

 

In many societies, it is recognized that the elders of that society are repositories of knowledge and wisdom.  Not that you can't be wise 'beyond your years', it's just that people who have lived for a long time have had the chance to gather knowledge, make mistakes and find out how to fix them.  And so, many societies protect their elders so that they can continue to teach younger people and pass their knowledge on to the next generations.

So it is with weaving and other fibre crafts.

We have been living in the midst of a global pandemic where literally millions of people have died (over 6 MILLION AND RISING) and many more laid low with Long Covid.  After two years of isolating, cancelling group activities, like workshops and conferences, people are fed up.  In Canada over 90% have at least one vaccine, more than 80% have two or more.  People are tired of isolating, no in person events, and anxious to 'return to normal'.  Forgetting that for some of us, 'normal' is not going to look anything like the Before Times.

Because along with being older comes higher risk of catching a virus like Covid.  And for elders with compromised immune systems or underlying conditions that make us more vulnerable to serious illness, up to and including death, we will have to keep protecting ourselves.

I have agreed to teach level one weaving in Olds in June.  This month Alberta, along with several other provinces - including my own - are removing covid mitigations.

In BC not only are mask and vax proof mandates going away, THEY WILL ONLY REPORT CASE NUMBERS ONCE A WEEK.  So people like me are being told to do our own risk assessment as they remove the very means by which we could make that assessment.

Just off the top of my head I know other fibre teachers who will be putting themselves at risk to travel to and teach at in-person events.  

Auto immune diseases.  Diabetes.  Cancer.  Organ transplants.  Cardiac issues.  And so many more.  There are lots of fibre teachers who are living with health issues that make them vulnerable.

If you or someone you know is planning on an in-person teaching event in the near future and the instructor is requesting that students wear a mask?

WEAR THE DAMN MASK.

Or risk killing off the highly knowledgeable at risk teacher you so much want to learn from.

Olds College is the only in-person class I have agreed to teach this year.  With all mitigations in Alberta going away and the province taking away the right for venues to have covid mitigations in place, all I can do is request that my students wear masks in my classroom.  I will provide masks for my students if they would be kind enough to want to protect me and my knowledge and don't have any with them.  If they do, then I will feel safe enough to remove mine during the lecture portion of the class.  I will bring a room air filter.  I will not eat in the dining hall or any of the local restaurants.  I will forgo shopping in the vendor hall or going to the lecture.

If I have to protect myself like many of the provinces are telling me, then please - help me do that.  If you want me to continue teaching, it is the kind thing to do.  For me, but also any other people who want to learn what I know.

Otherwise, I am continuing to present information on line.  I have several guild programs booked in the coming few months and work is on-going with the School of Sweet Georgia.  More content will be available in May, July, September and November (lectures) with two more workshops scheduled for taping in October.

I'd really like to be alive and well enough to do them.  Because while I might survive, I might be too sick with Long Covid to teach.