Page 32 - bon-dia-aruba-20200324
P. 32
A32 FEATURE/ENTERTAINMENT
Tuesday 24 March 2020
'A really big experiment': Parents turn teachers amid virus
By CAROLYN THOMPSON "It's a really big experiment," 45 states have closed, af- plans, telling them few, if saw 20,000 new students
Associated Press Ojeda-Valentin said as she fecting 53 million students, any, schools would reopen enroll during a single week-
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — After left the school, her second according to a tally kept before summer. end in March, compared
her sixth-grade son's school stop after picking up mate- by Education Week. While Los Angeles father Filiberto to the 80,000 who have at-
in Buffalo, New York, closed rials from her fourth-grade many closures were initially Gonzalez's three children tended class since its 2017
amid the coronavirus out- daughter's school. announced as short-term, have daily contact with launch, CEO Amir Nathoo
break, Roxanne Ojeda- Even in school districts that parents are wondering their teachers and one said.
Valentin returned to cam- are providing remote in- if schools will reopen this to four hours of work they The company offers live,
pus with shopping bags to struction, the burden falls academic year as the out- can do on an existing on- teacher-led online classes
take home textbooks and on parents to keep their break intensifies. line platform that supple- beginning at $5 each, but
weeks' worth of assign- children on task. In oth- After Kansas became the ments classes. But he never has also offered free we-
ments prepared by teach- ers, parents are left to find first state to announce thought the arrangement binars on running online
ers. educational websites and schools would remain would transform from a classes through video con-
A single mother with a full- curricular materials on their closed for the year, a task stopgap measure to per- ferencing.
time job, she now joins mil- own. And while the chal- force recommended from manent situation. Child development re-
lions of parents around the lenges are daunting for all, 30 minutes of work a day "The news ... was a real searcher Jessica Logan
country — and the world — they can be nearly impos- for the youngest students to shock to a lot of us," he said. and her husband contin-
suddenly thrust into the role sible to overcome for par- up to three hours daily for In Portland, Oregon, Katie ue to work full-time from
of their children's primary ents limited by access to students in sixth grade and Arnold's 7-year-old son has home and have been
educators, leaving them technology and their own up. California Gov. Gavin been spending his days in tag-teaming school-relat-
scrambling to sift through levels of education. Newsom also has urged the his mother's office, keeping ed questions from their 8-
educational resources and Across the United States, state's more than 6 million busy on an iPad and her and 12-year-old children,
juggle lesson plans with jobs more than 118,000 pub- schoolchildren and their laptop while she's manag- home from Columbus City
and other responsibilities. lic and private schools in families to make long-term ing accounts for a catering Schools in Ohio.
company. "I see all these people writ-
Oregon has shut down ing out, 'Here are the six
schools through April 28 hours we're going to spend
and some districts have put each day doing home-
optional activities online, work,' and was like, 'Not
though they are not meant happening in my house,'"
to replace the regular cur- she said.
riculum. "When am I going to get
While her son's district ex- my work done? I still have
plores virtual learning, she my own work to do, so
has been combing the in- does my husband. Neither
ternet and tapping friends of us can take the entire
for suggestions. day off to sit with them and
"Scholastic had a bunch do math worksheets or sci-
of free things and I have a ence experiments."
friend who's a teacher, so "All parents are in the same
I've gotten a lot of work- boat," Logan said. "Your kid
book pages for him to do, is not going to fall behind if
just to try to keep him busy," they don't do these assign-
said Arnold, who also has ments every day."
been using educational Nevertheless, Vancouver,
websites like ABCmouse. Washington, teacher Re-
Arnold is making plans with nee Collins has committed
other parents to teach chil- to keeping not only her
dren in small groups if the own 10- and 8-year-old
closure is extended, and is children on track academi-
resigned to the idea that cally, but two of her friend's
her workdays will be fol- children and a second-
lowed by evening school grade neighbor as well.
sessions. "We're going to do Mon-
"We'll muster through it," day, Tuesday and Thursday
she said. with the five kids together
Some parents are turning and the other days I'll do
to those with experience individually with (her own
homeschooling for guid- kids). So we'll do five days,"
ance, unsure of whether she said.
to enforce strict schedules "The one thing that kind of
and where to look for aca- gives a lot of us comfort,"
demic help. said Collins who teaches
Amid an influx of interest, middle-school math, "is
the National Home School that it's not just our state.
Association dropped its It's our entire nation. It's not
membership fee from $39 just going to be the state of
to $10 for access to tip Washington that's behind.
sheets and teaching mate- It's not just going to be my
rials, executive director Al- children that are going to
len Weston said. be behind. It's going to be
The online site Outschool everybody."q