Figuring Out Home Schooling in the Age of Coronavirus

https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/28/us/28IHW-coronavirus-school-families-learning.html

Version 9 of 45.

— Corinne Purtill, a Los Angeles-based journalist who covers health, science and technology

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Classroom education around the world has come to a screeching halt. School closures in over 160 countries have separated a staggering 87 percent of the world’s student population from their peers and teachers, according to UNESCO. More than 55.1 million K-12 students in the United States are now out of school.

With buildings closed, families are grappling with how to teach kids at home (and preserve everyone’s sanity).

The approaches to home schooling vary dramatically by school, grade and state. Some schools are having children log in to Zoom sessions for face-to-face online lessons, while others direct families to websites with activities for kids to do on their own.

But all is not equal in home learning.

Not everyone has access to books, school supplies and Wi-Fi, with low-income families especially hard-hit. And public safety nets like libraries, where children might have gone in the past, have closed their doors.

How are families managing home schooling in a pandemic?

Corinne Purtill, a Los Angeles-based journalist and parent of two, and Francesca Donner, an editor and a parent of three, discuss.

Francesca Donner: Before we get started, I just need to say I’m sorry for being nine hours late to this discussion. My day with two kids and a baby was a lot.

Corinne Purtill: Oh, I get it.

FD: And after I finally got the baby to bed, I needed to take a shower and change from one set of pajamas into another. Forget button pants, Corinne. All the best practices we discussed last week about working from home have flown out the window.

CP: Whatever it takes. That is the rule right now: whatever it takes.

FD: True. OK. Today we are going to talk about home schooling. You started home school last week. How’s it going?

CP: Last week was a resounding … meh. Think of what an adjustment it has been for adults to start working from home — fighting off distractions, finding a routine.

For kids, this is huge. Their lives are disrupted, they can’t see their friends, and the adults around them are undeniably stressed. Even if they reacted at first as if summer vacation had come early, a lot of them are also worried about this virus and how it’s changing their life.

FD: And that’s totally valid.

In my family, we’re still technically on “spring break,” but it’ll soon be clear that spring break isn’t so different from “back to school” — and not necessarily in a good way. We were so aimless in the early days that I finally broke down and had my boys, ages 7 and 9, create a schedule. I can’t say they followed it, apart from “11:30 a.m. snack,” but it did help to provide a semblance of routine.

CP: That’s a start! Count that as a win. We all need wins.

FD: It also counted as an activity.

CP: We are in this for the long haul, and everyone is going to need to figure out what keeps their family sane and balanced.

I haven’t made a super detailed color-blocked schedule, mostly because I know my children, ages 9 and 3, will treat it exactly like the organic hand-pureed baby food I made exactly once for each of them as infants: They’ll be visibly appalled and refuse to have anything to do with it.

But I also know my household, and I know that if I let chaos and Netflix rule all day, by late afternoon everyone is tearful and snarly, even the kids.

This week, we are trying a loose schedule of schoolwork in the morning and free play in the afternoon. Will it work? I have no idea. All of life is an experiment right now.

FD: In concept, I like that very much. But does schoolwork in the morning need to be overseen by you or can you leave them to it?

CP: My 9-year-old daughter and I talk the night before about which activities from the school’s suggested list she’ll want to do in each subject area. She’s old enough to be able to tackle most things on her own, and if she has any questions, I’m around. I’m around a lot these days.

At lunchtime I look over what she’s done, mainly just to make sure she’s been doing something on the laptop besides watching people make slime on YouTube. The afternoon is free time.

FD: And what does free time actually entail?

CP: My daughter can do her own thing. Her little brother, who can’t read yet, needs more attention.

He likes to pretend — he’s on a pirate ship, he’s in the wilderness, sometimes both at once — and he’d like me there with him while he does. When I can, I go all in on pretending. When I’ve got work, I juggle: playing cars while listening to a conference call, setting him up with a project before opening my laptop, and when I need to, turning on the TV or handing him my phone without guilt.

Some structure is helpful, but I try not to overplan. My friend Megan Carmichael is a funeral consultant who writes frequently on helping families cope with grief and loss. She’s also the mom of two young kids here in Southern California. I’ve been thinking a lot about something she wrote on Instagram earlier this week: “A lot of that activity planning is our way of avoiding the undercurrent of uncertainty. Life is scary, schedules are comforting. Our kids have a chance to find their own path and to explore this new way of life. This is new to ALL of us and everyone deserves an opportunity to find their own rhythm.”

FD: In other words, we’re trying to put some structure around that which we can’t control.

But you’re right about the freedom of exploration. “Wow in the World” had a great podcast for kids about how the mind becomes way more creative when we’re left to our own devices (i.e. bored).

If the online resources and guides and color-coded Instagram schedules are anything to go by, the home schooling thing is going to be a full-time job. I appreciate the resources, but, well, they’re a lot. (Remember the Israeli mom video? I see you, Shiri. We all do!)

CP: They are a lot. And it’s not a realistic expectation that those of us employed outside the home can continue to do our own jobs, while seamlessly taking on the work of the trained professionals who educated our children up until a few weeks ago. Anyone who thinks that teaching and caregiving aren’t labor-intensive jobs is profoundly undervaluing both.

Updated June 24, 2020

Scientists around the country have tried to identify everyday materials that do a good job of filtering microscopic particles. In recent tests, HEPA furnace filters scored high, as did vacuum cleaner bags, fabric similar to flannel pajamas and those of 600-count pillowcases. Other materials tested included layered coffee filters and scarves and bandannas. These scored lower, but still captured a small percentage of particles.

A commentary published this month on the website of the British Journal of Sports Medicine points out that covering your face during exercise “comes with issues of potential breathing restriction and discomfort” and requires “balancing benefits versus possible adverse events.” Masks do alter exercise, says Cedric X. Bryant, the president and chief science officer of the American Council on Exercise, a nonprofit organization that funds exercise research and certifies fitness professionals. “In my personal experience,” he says, “heart rates are higher at the same relative intensity when you wear a mask.” Some people also could experience lightheadedness during familiar workouts while masked, says Len Kravitz, a professor of exercise science at the University of New Mexico.

The steroid, dexamethasone, is the first treatment shown to reduce mortality in severely ill patients, according to scientists in Britain. The drug appears to reduce inflammation caused by the immune system, protecting the tissues. In the study, dexamethasone reduced deaths of patients on ventilators by one-third, and deaths of patients on oxygen by one-fifth.

The coronavirus emergency relief package gives many American workers paid leave if they need to take time off because of the virus. It gives qualified workers two weeks of paid sick leave if they are ill, quarantined or seeking diagnosis or preventive care for coronavirus, or if they are caring for sick family members. It gives 12 weeks of paid leave to people caring for children whose schools are closed or whose child care provider is unavailable because of the coronavirus. It is the first time the United States has had widespread federally mandated paid leave, and includes people who don’t typically get such benefits, like part-time and gig economy workers. But the measure excludes at least half of private-sector workers, including those at the country’s largest employers, and gives small employers significant leeway to deny leave.

So far, the evidence seems to show it does. A widely cited paper published in April suggests that people are most infectious about two days before the onset of coronavirus symptoms and estimated that 44 percent of new infections were a result of transmission from people who were not yet showing symptoms. Recently, a top expert at the World Health Organization stated that transmission of the coronavirus by people who did not have symptoms was “very rare,” but she later walked back that statement.

Touching contaminated objects and then infecting ourselves with the germs is not typically how the virus spreads. But it can happen. A number of studies of flu, rhinovirus, coronavirus and other microbes have shown that respiratory illnesses, including the new coronavirus, can spread by touching contaminated surfaces, particularly in places like day care centers, offices and hospitals. But a long chain of events has to happen for the disease to spread that way. The best way to protect yourself from coronavirus — whether it’s surface transmission or close human contact — is still social distancing, washing your hands, not touching your face and wearing masks.

A study by European scientists is the first to document a strong statistical link between genetic variations and Covid-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Having Type A blood was linked to a 50 percent increase in the likelihood that a patient would need to get oxygen or to go on a ventilator, according to the new study.

The unemployment rate fell to 13.3 percent in May, the Labor Department said on June 5, an unexpected improvement in the nation’s job market as hiring rebounded faster than economists expected. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate to increase to as much as 20 percent, after it hit 14.7 percent in April, which was the highest since the government began keeping official statistics after World War II. But the unemployment rate dipped instead, with employers adding 2.5 million jobs, after more than 20 million jobs were lost in April.

Common symptoms include fever, a dry cough, fatigue and difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. Some of these symptoms overlap with those of the flu, making detection difficult, but runny noses and stuffy sinuses are less common. The C.D.C. has also added chills, muscle pain, sore throat, headache and a new loss of the sense of taste or smell as symptoms to look out for. Most people fall ill five to seven days after exposure, but symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as many as 14 days.

If air travel is unavoidable, there are some steps you can take to protect yourself. Most important: Wash your hands often, and stop touching your face. If possible, choose a window seat. A study from Emory University found that during flu season, the safest place to sit on a plane is by a window, as people sitting in window seats had less contact with potentially sick people. Disinfect hard surfaces. When you get to your seat and your hands are clean, use disinfecting wipes to clean the hard surfaces at your seat like the head and arm rest, the seatbelt buckle, the remote, screen, seat back pocket and the tray table. If the seat is hard and nonporous or leather or pleather, you can wipe that down, too. (Using wipes on upholstered seats could lead to a wet seat and spreading of germs rather than killing them.)

If you’ve been exposed to the coronavirus or think you have, and have a fever or symptoms like a cough or difficulty breathing, call a doctor. They should give you advice on whether you should be tested, how to get tested, and how to seek medical treatment without potentially infecting or exposing others.

FD: Can we take a moment to recognize the truly extraordinary efforts by teachers and educators to get at-home learning plans in place, however bumpy they may be. It’s new for all of us.

I know that academics in my household are going to slide, even with the resources of parents (me and my husband, generally available), working Wi-Fi (generally pretty good) and books, paper, pencils and a laptop to share.

But I worry far more for kids who don’t have parents at home to handhold them through the twists and turns of learning. It’s not fair. Access to the internet and books at home is such an advantage.

CP: Absolutely. This shutdown will exacerbate the educational gap between kids who have access to the internet, books — even food and a stable home — during this time, and those who don’t. This crisis has shut down all the workarounds strapped families rely on, like school meals and internet access at libraries.

Not every family has a computer, let alone more than one. The Los Angeles Times spoke to a teacher here in Los Angeles who has a student whose only internet access is on her dad’s phone, which she can only see once he gets home from a full day of work. In addition to schooling, many families are also now trying to navigate the byzantine process of applying for unemployment benefits and temporary insurance.

Plus, the instructions from the school can be confusing even if you are a parent fluent in the local language, and virtually impossible to manage if not.

FD: Right. And The New York Times wrote about a fourth-grade honor student who brought home her school’s loaner iPad only to discover there was no internet at her family’s studio apartment in a homeless shelter. It’s heartbreaking.

Some groups are working on it. The nationwide organization ParentChild+ secured an emergency grant to distribute smartphones and tablets with data plans to Massachusetts families in need. In the Bay Area, the same group set up drive-through centers to serve families with supplies like books and diapers, which are placed directly in the trunk of the car.

But the education gap is brutal — it leaves the poor and vulnerable behind.

And parents who have more can spend more to keep their kids learning now, buying them extra books and educational games, and later to get their kids up to speed on whatever they missed — tutoring, ballet classes and so on.

CP: Yep, just as they were doing before the virus.

Anne Helen Petersen at Buzzfeed asked a social worker in Pennsylvania what could be done to help families in such straits right now. I’ve been thinking about her answer ever since:

“I’m not overly interested in what people think they can do today, right now, from the comfort of their homes,” she said. “To me, that’s well-intentioned but shortsighted. People don’t have a lot to offer my clients right now. I want people to start thinking in macro, not micro. I want them to think about the structural inequalities that put my clients at greater risk — economics, education, mental health services, drug and alcohol services — and I want them to care about those when this is over. If you really want to help vulnerable children, spend your time thinking about how you can organize and outreach and demand that from them right now and when this is over.”

Readers: How are your families handling isolation? Are you caring for adult loved ones as well? And how are you caring for yourself? Write to us at inherwords@nytimes.com.

Read more: Figuring Out Work and Family in the Age of Coronavirus

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