Page 29 - COVID Consortium Journal - An Edited Collection of Student Art and Writing

11th and 12th grade English teacher, Joanna Dolgin, helps her two kids with
school work. Image by Ari Kahn.

For moms with newborns or office to mail a computer to a kid.” He
small children, daily life during the is very grateful for his partner, who
coronavirus is especially demanding. does the majority of child care and
Thai Sanders, math and science learn- “domestic stuff.” Although Principal
ing specialist and mother of a four Federman treasures having more
month old, has extra chores on top of family time and the ability to pop out
the ones other parents have, such as of his office to give his kid a hug, it is
having to pump daily. hard when he’s in the middle of a call
and he hears his son struggling and
Also, such a little child func- he cannot go out and comfort him.
tions on a less regular schedule. “It’s “It’s more in my kid’s face that I’m not
hard. My baby doesn’t really respect paying attention to him. That’s the
the time or the schedules. Change hard thing,” he said.
me now. Feed me now,” she said,
as her baby gurgled and cried, and The separations between work
ambulance sirens screamed in the and family have dissolved during
background. the day. Before, teachers could drop
their kids off at school or daycare,
Mark Federman, the principal and then completely focus on their
of East Side Community School work at hand. Ms. Fontana exclaimed,
and father of a seven year old, has “Now, there are no boundaries. Work
a million things on his daily to do and play and quiet time, it all blends
list. Most of his day is spent problem together.”
solving and supporting the families
and students of his school: “This is a In an interview with Marc Sole,
small thing, but I just ran to the post an 11th grade Biology teacher, his

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