By Kelli Rouch
E-learning. It's the one word that full-time working parents dread during a normal school year.
I have a management position with 3 different teams and more than 60 projects. My husband works as a full-time welder. With two boys, we are a busy family.
During a typical year, the school schedules multiple days of home e-learning. Our boys, ages 8 and 11, want to enjoy home, play on their PS4, and snack. This is where the struggle begins. I either work from home, while trying to tackle their e-learning throughout the day, or go to work and pray they get it done. If not, I have to spend the next 3-4 hours teaching while trying to clean and make dinner.
Now comes this little thing called coronavirus. Soon we were all at home and the thing I was dreading started: everyday e-learning. At first, my husband could help, but he went back to work after 2 months.
Now, most days, I am in back-to-back virtual meetings, worrying all the time about the sound of kids in the background. Thankfully, our governor decided to shorten the school year to 20 days. This meant that we only have three e-learning days every week.
Which brings me to now. What is going to happen when August rolls around and Covid-19 is still here? If I have to continue to be a full-time teacher then I will do so, if it means they stay healthy. Let's just hope this doesn't last. Hang in there working moms and dads!
Kelli Rouch is a full-time career woman, wife, and mother in Indiana.
