Managing Your Work, Your Child's Work Online
2020-08-04
LRC
TXT
大字
小字
滚动
全页
1From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report.
2The coronavirus pandemic has changed many things about everyday life.
3One big change is childcare - or the lack of it.
4As many childcare providers closed as part of public safety measures, so did schools, offices and businesses.
5Social restrictions also tightened.
6This meant many older adults were unable to help watch or care for their grandchildren.
7This left working parents with a sudden, unexpected problem -- working from home with children who also had schoolwork to do.
8Many parents struggled to meet work demands while watching over their child's online studies at the same time.
9Even companies whose job it is to prepare for a pandemic were caught off guard - or unprepared.
10The British drug-maker AstraZeneca spent years preparing for a health crisis.
11However, when it happened, the company was not prepared to help its employees work effectively at home with their children.
12The company asked its 8,300 employees about childcare and found that at least 1,100 needed help.
13Fiona Cicconi heads the company's human resources office.
14She noted that some employees said they were feeling worried about the work they had to do and about not getting it done.
15Several of those working parents are also responsible for trying to produce a vaccine for the disease COVID-19.
16So, AstraZeneca did many things to help its employees by helping their children.
17The company found about 80 teachers and paid them to organize classes online.
18It developed a computer software program to make planning the lessons easy.
19And it also found tutors for children needing one-on-one instruction.
20Other businesses around the world did similar things to help their employees work through the coronavirus health crisis.
21German business software company SAP provided online lessons for children of its workers.
22Those classes taught performing magic, dancing and learning to play a musical instrument.
23In Italy, tire maker Pirelli teamed up with Radiomamma.it to provide online education and fun activities for children.
24Classes in English, creativity and technology are among the most popular.
25However, not all parents have such support from their employer.
26Many are dealing with their own work, childcare and online learning on their own.
27I spoke with one woman about her ways of dealing with the situation.
28Mary Shelley is a director of information technology at the University of Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C.
29She says when her son's learning went online, she needed strategies to manage her 13-year-old son's education.
30During the spring, Shelley says, it seemed easy to keep her son thinking about schoolwork.
31At that time, nearly all U.S. students were at home and taking classes online.
32But now during the summer, her son is taking an online pre-Algebra class.
33However, the methods she used during the regular school year are still helping her now.
34Shelley says the most important thing for her is this: wake up early and get herself organized first.
35"I try to get up early and get myself organized for the day ... and figure out what's critical to get done for myself and my own work."
36Having a routine is important.
37A routine gives you set times for the things you need to do, such as waking, studying, taking breaks, eating and exercising.
38When making that routine involve your child.
39Ask for the child's help.
40Let them give input, or ideas.
41This can help a child feel empowered.
42Shelley did this and says it gave her son ownership of the process.
43A child may be more willing to follow a routine if they helped to make it, or as our busy working mom says, "craft" it.
44"I worked with him to try to craft a routine together to make sure that he has input on that as well. And I think that has helped him to take ownership of his work and of his day."
45After you set a routine, see how it works with your family. And be ready to change things.
46Shelley describes her process as trial-and-error.
47She tried some things with her son to see what worked.
48At first, the rule was her son had to finish all his schoolwork before playing any video games.
49But she found that he works better if his work is broken up into two smaller learning periods, instead of one big, long one.
50The one consistent thing, she adds, all work is done by dinner.
51"The only thing that has been totally consistent is to everything done before dinner, and so that leaves his evening free and leaves us free from hassling him in the evenings."
52This helps Mary Shelley keep a balance between home life and work life.
53Experts say this balance is important as many of us continue to work from home.
54Experts also say that business leaders' positions toward working from home could help lead to higher productivity and loyalty.
55However, they also say that working from home also can present challenges.
56When work and home are living so close together, parents must set boundaries.
57They must know when to clock out and leave their work for the day.
58And that's the Health & Lifestyle report.
59I'm Anna Matteo.
1From VOA Learning English, this is the Health & Lifestyle report. 2The coronavirus pandemic has changed many things about everyday life. One big change is childcare - or the lack of it. 3As many childcare providers closed as part of public safety measures, so did schools, offices and businesses. Social restrictions also tightened. This meant many older adults were unable to help watch or care for their grandchildren. 4This left working parents with a sudden, unexpected problem -- working from home with children who also had schoolwork to do. 5Many parents struggled to meet work demands while watching over their child's online studies at the same time. Even companies whose job it is to prepare for a pandemic were caught off guard - or unprepared. 6The British drug-maker AstraZeneca spent years preparing for a health crisis. However, when it happened, the company was not prepared to help its employees work effectively at home with their children. The company asked its 8,300 employees about childcare and found that at least 1,100 needed help. 7Fiona Cicconi heads the company's human resources office. She noted that some employees said they were feeling worried about the work they had to do and about not getting it done. 8Several of those working parents are also responsible for trying to produce a vaccine for the disease COVID-19. 9So, AstraZeneca did many things to help its employees by helping their children. The company found about 80 teachers and paid them to organize classes online. It developed a computer software program to make planning the lessons easy. And it also found tutors for children needing one-on-one instruction. 10Other businesses around the world did similar things to help their employees work through the coronavirus health crisis. 11German business software company SAP provided online lessons for children of its workers. Those classes taught performing magic, dancing and learning to play a musical instrument. 12In Italy, tire maker Pirelli teamed up with Radiomamma.it to provide online education and fun activities for children. Classes in English, creativity and technology are among the most popular. 13However, not all parents have such support from their employer. Many are dealing with their own work, childcare and online learning on their own. I spoke with one woman about her ways of dealing with the situation. 14Mary Shelley is a director of information technology at the University of Maryland, just outside Washington, D.C. She says when her son's learning went online, she needed strategies to manage her 13-year-old son's education. 15During the spring, Shelley says, it seemed easy to keep her son thinking about schoolwork. At that time, nearly all U.S. students were at home and taking classes online. But now during the summer, her son is taking an online pre-Algebra class. However, the methods she used during the regular school year are still helping her now. 16Get up early and get organized. 17Shelley says the most important thing for her is this: wake up early and get herself organized first. 18"I try to get up early and get myself organized for the day ... and figure out what's critical to get done for myself and my own work." 19Create a routine. 20Having a routine is important. A routine gives you set times for the things you need to do, such as waking, studying, taking breaks, eating and exercising. 21Create the routine with your child. 22When making that routine involve your child. Ask for the child's help. Let them give input, or ideas. This can help a child feel empowered. 23Shelley did this and says it gave her son ownership of the process. A child may be more willing to follow a routine if they helped to make it, or as our busy working mom says, "craft" it. 24"I worked with him to try to craft a routine together to make sure that he has input on that as well. And I think that has helped him to take ownership of his work and of his day." 25Be ready to change your routine. 26After you set a routine, see how it works with your family. And be ready to change things. 27Shelley describes her process as trial-and-error. She tried some things with her son to see what worked. 28At first, the rule was her son had to finish all his schoolwork before playing any video games. But she found that he works better if his work is broken up into two smaller learning periods, instead of one big, long one. The one consistent thing, she adds, all work is done by dinner. 29"The only thing that has been totally consistent is to everything done before dinner, and so that leaves his evening free and leaves us free from hassling him in the evenings." 30This helps Mary Shelley keep a balance between home life and work life. Experts say this balance is important as many of us continue to work from home. 31Experts also say that business leaders' positions toward working from home could help lead to higher productivity and loyalty. 32However, they also say that working from home also can present challenges. When work and home are living so close together, parents must set boundaries. They must know when to clock out and leave their work for the day. 33And that's the Health & Lifestyle report. 34I'm Anna Matteo. 35Anna Matteo wrote this story for Learning English with additional reporting from Reuters. 36________________________________________________________________ 37Words in This Story 38grandchildren - n. the child of one's son or daughter 39strategy - n. a careful plan or method for achieving a particular goal usually over a long period of time : the skill of making or carrying out plans to achieve a goal 40craft - v. to make or produce (something) with care or skill 41input - n. advice or opinions that help someone make a decision 42trial-and-error - n. a finding out of the best way to reach a desired result or a correct solution by trying out one or more ways or means and by noting and eliminating errors or causes of failure 43consistent - adj. always acting or behaving in the same way 44hassle - v. to bother or annoy (someone) constantly or repeatedly 45boundary - n. point or limit that indicates where two things become different 46clock out - phrasal verb to record on a special card the time that one stops working