Day to day quarantine was experienced all around the world. Through different family situations, different homes, locations, states, and even countries everyone has their own story to tell. Right here in Green Bay Eric Sorenson had his own quarantine “struggles”. 

Bay Port ELA teacher Eric Sorenson is well known for his connections with students. He is widely known by counselors and fellow teachers for the face-to-face personal connection students say he makes. 

With the current state of emergency, that connection is a little bit harder to make. However, Sorenson’s personality was never lost in students’ lives over quarantine. From mailed letters to candy deliveries to students’ front porches in honor of prom, Sorenson made a day to day difference in the time students were at home. 

“I missed the students so much, I missed seeing everyone’s faces at school and hearing about what was going on in their lives. That was the hardest part of being at home for me,” Sorenson said. 

Along with the connection he built with students, a majority of the time Sorenson spent at home was with his 7-year-old daughter Milly. Many parents experienced the ups and downs of being a “homeschool teacher” during the shutdown of schools everywhere. Sorenson turned into an at home teacher, as well as an online teacher. 

“From 7 a.m. to about 3 p.m. Milly and I sat at the table working on school,” Sorenson said.

With schools shut down teachers were forced to stretch their minds and make a classroom at home for their students. For Sorenson, it was his dining room table with Milly and their pet tortoise Mary. 

Not only did a majority of their day include being teacher and student, but they could be seen all over the virtual stands of wrestling. 

“I watched pro wrestling every week, three times a week, and we were always in the virtual crowd, the Thunderdome, which made us bond,” Sorenson said.

The long days stuck at home were a hard time on people’s hearts and minds, however Sorenson kept his head up by helping his daughter Milly with homeschool, and bonding with her over board games as well as late nights spending time together while watching wrestling. Of course not all was positive for Sorenson during this time because he missed his deep connections with students not seeing everyone was very difficult, as well as the Cubs not playing. 

“I wish the Cubs would have played the whole time. That would have made it a whole lot easier,” he said. “I also wish that we had been able to have seen people more; I missed everyone so much. Quarantine made me more grateful for coming to school and seeing everyone face to face; even Zoom is really nice just to talk to everyone.”