Page 27 - COVID Consortium Journal - An Edited Collection of Student Art and Writing

A Delicate Balance: Teaching while
Parenting in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Tigerlily Theo Hopson

sons could complete their online
assignments, helping her kids with
intensive school work, caring for
her sick husband, and on top of that
teaching and supporting her almost
100 history students, broke down as
the wail of sirens echoed outside.

For many teachers, this tumul-
Kate Jensen balancing her own work tuous time feels overwhelming, even
as a teacher with helping her two kids
with their school assignments. Image without a family member infected
by Ryan Jensen. with COVID-19. Teachers, like doctors
and nurses, are essential workers, at
Kate Jensen, an 11th grade his-
tory teacher at East Side Community least for any family with school aged
High School in New York City, was children. Their days are jam-packed
consumed with fear on a mid-March with meetings, lesson plans, helping
day as her husband Ryan lay in their kids figure out technology, grading
bedroom, delirious, soaking through work, and converting everything to
sheets as his face burned with a tem- an online platform.
perature of 104.5 degrees. Many teachers have to keep
track of hundreds of students, check-
In the next room of their small
750 square foot North Greenpoint ing on how they are doing, if they
Brooklyn apartment, she tried to give are completing their work, or if they
her feverish eight year old, Gus, a Ty- need extra support. But, on top of
lenol. “I don’t feel well,” is all he said this, many, like Ms. Jensen, have the
before vomiting. Her five year old, responsibility of a full time caretaker.
Cyrus, wandered in at that moment, Parenting responsibilities vary
asking for help with a school assign- from teacher to teacher, but no matter
ment. the circumstance, COVID-19 brings
additional hurdles. Daily caretaking
Ms. Jensen, who had spent the
past week disinfecting the apart- responsibilities for parent-teachers
ment, ordering Chromebooks so her include laundry, grocery shopping,
cooking, supporting their school-

22