https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tC-SmhxvJAg&feature=youtu.be
With many school buildings shut down during the pandemic, students, teachers, and parents are trying to cope with remote learning.
Some parents are facing an adjustment nearly as difficult as the challenges facing teachers and students.
With jobs and other responsibilities, they're adjusting schedules, with the kids at home. Parents like Jessica Segura of Las Cruces.
“My son was the only one of my little ones that were going to school. He was in kindergarten so that was definitely a learning curve and trying to figure out how to get things done via zoom and assignments and really keep him on track as best as I could and still work,” said Segura
Segura is not alone. Megan Garcia is a parent of two at Highland Elementary in Las Cruces. She says remote learning is challenging, but it's getting easier.
“I feel in a lot of ways at first whenever it started in spring, it was rough. There were no clear expectations from the district. My second grader was in first grade at the time and they literally gave us this packet and it was kind of poorly put together. This year has been a completely different experience. His teacher is very on top of things, clear expectations, clear communications across the board. I feel like he’s getting a lot of that individualized attention that he was getting prior to,” said Garcia.
Mariana Zuniga has both elementary and middle school children to keep on track, while she attends New Mexico State University.
“The oldest one's kind of remember a little bit, but for the younger ones I actually have to sit down with them and make sure they’re paying attention because they won’t sit-down…[referring to] like the little ones,” said Zuniga.
A Pew Research Study reports 74% of K-12 parents are highly concerned their children will fall behind in school with a mix of in-person and online instruction.
Blanca Araujo is the director of the teacher-education program and associate professor in the College of Education at New Mexico State University.
” I think our creativity is really stretching now and we're getting creative,” said Araujo.
But creativity only goes so far. Araujo says using platforms like Zoom may be draining for some students, especially the younger ones.
“Also on Zoom fatigue or Google Classroom fatigue right. We get tired of Zooming in on the screen so we've kind of had to learn how to incorporate both out of the screen, teaching and onto the screen teaching so we need to be creative in ways that we can have work for students to do outside of being on screen,” said Araujo.
Jessica Segura empathizes with her kids, who say they're ready to return to school. Part of what they're missing is the social interaction.
“They want to be out there and playing. He’ll ask me when is coronavirus going to be over, so we can play with our friends. That’s the hard part of them not knowing when and not being able to have that social interaction,” said Segura.
During these unprecedented times, Brenda Enriquez, a mother of three in the Gadsden Independent School District, has brought the classroom home.
“At the beginning was a real challenge but I decided to make them a, say for example the kindergartener that works behind me. To make him like a more school type of environment versus just being at home on the couch or in their room. It's a lot easier for me and for them to transition into, you know. Okay, it's time for school,” said Enriquez.
Professor Araujo says there’s still lots of work to be done to ensure every student gets an education, even if it’s through a computer.
“There’s a lot of work to be done in that area and it's a really hard thing to be going through to where you're there with people and now all of a sudden you don't have that interaction so we're trying to figure that out. I know with my student teachers I teach the student teaching seminar so I'm working with those students who are out doing their student teaching. I think they're working very hard with their cooperating teachers out in the schools to figure out how to create those interactions but I think we have a long way to go in that area like learning how to do that effectively to where students are really participating with each other and sharing,” said Araujo.
A Pew Research study found just 30% of K-12 parents are satisfied with online instruction only.