CONGRESSWOMAN HIGHLIGHTS REMOTE LEARNING EXPERIENCE

Congresswoman Robin Kelly has been helping out with her grandson’s remote learning during COVID-19. Photo courtesy of Congresswoman Robin Kelly
Congresswoman Robin Kelly has been helping out with her grandson’s remote learning during COVID-19. Photo courtesy of Congresswoman Robin Kelly

 Congresswoman highlights remote learning experience

BY TIA CAROL JONES
     Due to COVID-19, parents and grandparents are having to assist students with remote learning.
     Congresswoman Robin Kelly knows firsthand that it takes all members of the family to ensure students are able to access remote learning.
   Kelly’s daughter works nights and overnights. So, Kelly and her husband have been helping with her grandson’s e-learning. She said she understands how tough it is for parents who work a 9-to-5 schedule, but it can be even harder for those who work a third shift or overnight hours. “We just try to be supportive in every way that we can be supportive,” she said.
     Students and parents were thrust into remote learning last spring when schools closed their buildings to keep students, faculty and staff safe in the early stages of COVID-19. Now, as parents, students, teachers, staff and faculty are well into fall, many are still not finding the situation ideal, but want to do what will keep students safe.
    Kelly said the hours on Zoom can be long for her grandson, who is in first grade.
     “For someone young, I think he finds it exasperating and long,” she said. Kelly added some of the feedback she has received from parents is that it is tough for them. Kelly said in a meeting, it was discussed that there are some parents who are taking leave to help their children or quitting their jobs, whatever the job allows. She said she realizes there are some parents who can’t afford to take leave or quit their jobs to help their children with remote learning.
    “As much as we can do in helping essential workers or people who work overnight, I think we need to do,” Kelly said. She added while she has heard that there are some centers where parents can drop off their children for remote learning and for childcare, she is not sure parents will use that option due to the ongoing pandemic and because they want to keep their children safe.
     “Parents are between a rock and a hard place, teachers are between a rock and a hard place. School administrators are, it’s just tough,” she said. Kelly said she has been in touch with the superintendents of school districts in the district. She said districts did different things, some had hybrid learning, some all virtual, and some had in-person learning. She said she is going to follow-up with those superintendents to see how things are going for them.
    “They all have their challenges because you might have control of the environment when the young person is in school, but once they go home, it’s a whole different ball game,” she said. “I would like to hear back from the people in it, what they think and also from parents because parents are having a really hard time, too.”
      Kelly said she has heard parents expressing different thoughts about remote learning and how it’s affecting their children. In some cases, parents say while students are getting the assignments done, some don’t like being on Zoom for too long. Kids are hanging in there, but in some cases, kids hate it.
     She said teachers who have their own kids and who have to navigate teaching remotely while their kids are doing remote learning, have their own set of challenges. She said she is sure her rural areas, are probably having a harder time.
Kelly said there are so many school districts in her district – rural, urban and suburban. She said people put the best plan they thought they had in place.
      “I think it was organization, but some taking a leap of faith,” she said. “I hope that we can work our way out of this for the betterment of our students, first and foremost, and the parents and educators.”

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