Back-to-School Plans Worry Working Parents in Virus Era
2020-07-22
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1For generations, school has been a place for children to learn and make friends.
2But in the United States, school is important to many parents for another reason.
3It is a safe place that cares for their children while they are working - or a necessity for them to be able to work at all.
4The spread of the coronavirus this year, and the resulting changes, have caused these ideas of school in American life to collide.
5Now, President Donald Trump is demanding that schools reopen in a few weeks.
6But with virus infection rates rising, many working parents see no good options.
7Michelle Brinson lives in Nashville, Tennessee.
8She works full-time for a nonprofit group while raising her 11-year-old child alone.
9She told The Associated Press she does not have the option of a husband or other family member to care for her son.
10At age 50, and with health conditions, Brinson says she is "terrified" of getting infected with the coronavirus.
11She is worried that if her son goes back to school, he could bring the virus home to her.
12If I'm dead or connected to breathing equipment, she says, "what good am I to him?"
13This is not the first time American schools have closed - or talked about it - because of an epidemic.
14It happened in 1918 with an influenza pandemic and in the 1930s and 1950s, when polio was a major health issue.
15But the nature of school has changed completely since the 1950s, notes education historian Jonathan Zimmerman.
16School used to teach basic skills and citizenship, but extensive schooling was not needed for many jobs.
17The whole structure of the economy changed after World War II.
18And schooling became a necessity for personal independence like it never had before, he explained.
19In a way, schools have also become like social service agencies.
20They provide necessities like meals and mental health services.
21That is where the conflict comes in. Asking a parent to work full time while supervising schooling and daytime meals can lead to stress and impossible expectations.
22That is especially true for a parent trying to raise a child alone.
23Rebecca Witte offers evidence of that.
24For Witte, the experience of working from home while helping her two young children finish the school year from home is not one she wants to repeat.
25Witte works as a spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Corrections.
26During a coronavirus outbreak that infected more than 900 prisoners, she remembers her children coming into the room and shouting one day while she was being interviewed.
27Her husband, the head of a school, shared the homeschooling responsibilities but was also busy helping teachers at his school move to online learning.
28"Trying to work, it was hard," Rebecca Witte said.
29She is waiting to see what the plan is for the new school year and is "hopeful they won't be home full time with me trying to teach and work."
30Before the virus, Michelle Brinson says she went to her workplace every day and her son went to school and then went to after-school programs daily.
31Brinson was totally unprepared when schools closed in March.
32So, she took several days off until she got permission to work from home.
33Now her employer is pushing her to come back to the office.
34Yet in many ways, Brinson and Witte are lucky.
35Their jobs offer at least some room for compromise.
36Taryn Walker has been depending on her two teenage children to care for her 5-year-old child while she works as an office assistant.
37Her offices never closed and she is not permitted to work from home.
38The situation has also hurt Walker financially as her food costs rise.
39"Because they are home all day, I'm paying two or three times the amount I did before," she says.
40But Walker also does not feel safe sending the children back to school.
41Elizabeth Ananat is an economics professor at Barnard College in New York City.
42She served as an economic advisor to Barack Obama during his presidency.
43She has been surveying a group of 1,000 hourly service workers for almost a year.
44Ananat told the AP she has found that working families with young children have been especially harmed by the health crisis.
45Parents need to work to pay for food but also need to care for their children.
46And they cannot risk getting sick.
47Those issues existed before.
48But the lack of school and other childcare programs and the deadly nature of the virus are adding to the pressures.
49Ananat calls the situation a disaster.
50She says federal aid for businesses and the unemployed has helped, but not everyone who was eligible was able to get it.
51But now much of that money is running out, she notes.
52And businesses are pressuring parents to return to the workplace, while school systems do not have a plan to make that happen, Ananat says.
53In Florida and Texas, two states with rising infection rates, officials are requiring school districts to offer in-person schooling to those who want it.
54I'm Alice Bryant.
1For generations, school has been a place for children to learn and make friends. But in the United States, school is important to many parents for another reason. It is a safe place that cares for their children while they are working - or a necessity for them to be able to work at all. 2The spread of the coronavirus this year, and the resulting changes, have caused these ideas of school in American life to collide. Now, President Donald Trump is demanding that schools reopen in a few weeks. But with virus infection rates rising, many working parents see no good options. 3Michelle Brinson lives in Nashville, Tennessee. She works full-time for a nonprofit group while raising her 11-year-old child alone. She told The Associated Press she does not have the option of a husband or other family member to care for her son. 4At age 50, and with health conditions, Brinson says she is "terrified" of getting infected with the coronavirus. She is worried that if her son goes back to school, he could bring the virus home to her. If I'm dead or connected to breathing equipment, she says, "what good am I to him?" 5This is not the first time American schools have closed - or talked about it - because of an epidemic. It happened in 1918 with an influenza pandemic and in the 1930s and 1950s, when polio was a major health issue. 6But the nature of school has changed completely since the 1950s, notes education historian Jonathan Zimmerman. School used to teach basic skills and citizenship, but extensive schooling was not needed for many jobs. 7The whole structure of the economy changed after World War II. And schooling became a necessity for personal independence like it never had before, he explained. In a way, schools have also become like social service agencies. They provide necessities like meals and mental health services. 8That is where the conflict comes in. Asking a parent to work full time while supervising schooling and daytime meals can lead to stress and impossible expectations. That is especially true for a parent trying to raise a child alone. 9Rebecca Witte offers evidence of that. For Witte, the experience of working from home while helping her two young children finish the school year from home is not one she wants to repeat. 10Witte works as a spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Corrections. During a coronavirus outbreak that infected more than 900 prisoners, she remembers her children coming into the room and shouting one day while she was being interviewed. Her husband, the head of a school, shared the homeschooling responsibilities but was also busy helping teachers at his school move to online learning. 11"Trying to work, it was hard," Rebecca Witte said. She is waiting to see what the plan is for the new school year and is "hopeful they won't be home full time with me trying to teach and work." 12Before the virus, Michelle Brinson says she went to her workplace every day and her son went to school and then went to after-school programs daily. Brinson was totally unprepared when schools closed in March. So, she took several days off until she got permission to work from home. Now her employer is pushing her to come back to the office. 13Yet in many ways, Brinson and Witte are lucky. Their jobs offer at least some room for compromise. 14Taryn Walker has been depending on her two teenage children to care for her 5-year-old child while she works as an office assistant. Her offices never closed and she is not permitted to work from home. 15The situation has also hurt Walker financially as her food costs rise. "Because they are home all day, I'm paying two or three times the amount I did before," she says. 16But Walker also does not feel safe sending the children back to school. 17Elizabeth Ananat is an economics professor at Barnard College in New York City. She served as an economic advisor to Barack Obama during his presidency. She has been surveying a group of 1,000 hourly service workers for almost a year. Ananat told the AP she has found that working families with young children have been especially harmed by the health crisis. 18Parents need to work to pay for food but also need to care for their children. And they cannot risk getting sick. Those issues existed before. But the lack of school and other childcare programs and the deadly nature of the virus are adding to the pressures. 19Ananat calls the situation a disaster. She says federal aid for businesses and the unemployed has helped, but not everyone who was eligible was able to get it. But now much of that money is running out, she notes. 20And businesses are pressuring parents to return to the workplace, while school systems do not have a plan to make that happen, Ananat says. 21In Florida and Texas, two states with rising infection rates, officials are requiring school districts to offer in-person schooling to those who want it. 22I'm Alice Bryant. 23The Associated Press reported this story. Alice Bryant adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. 24____________________________________________________________ 25Words in This Story 26collide - v. to crash together or to crash into something 27option - n. the chance or ability to choose something or to choose between two or more things 28terrified - adj. extremely afraid 29epidemic - n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people 30stress - n. a state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life 31interview - v. to question or talk with someone in order to get information 32teenage - adj. between the ages of 13 and 19 33survey - v. to ask many people a series of questions to gather information about what people do or think about something 34eligible - adj. able to do or receive something 35school district - n. an area or region containing the schools that a school board is in charge of