404 School Not Found

A look at one family’s day of virtual learning

BY BRIAN HUYNH

An orange T. rex lies on its side at the exact spot on the wooden floor where Skyler and Sofia lost interest in it. Nearby, action figures with missing limbs lie face down on the ground only feet away from the small plastic folding table littered with pencils, an assortment of crumpled paper filled with past assignments and a school-issued Chromebook right in the middle.

For the next few hours, Skyler will stare at the dim screen from the leather ottoman bench tucked under the lip of the white makeshift desk. To his right, his cousin Linda Huynh acts as his tutor behind a cloth face mask she sewed after months of boredom. It’s a role she reluctantly accepted along with Skyler’s uncle, Vanchhoeng, who is making the best of his freshman year of high school in an adjacent bedroom. He’ll have to battle through the constant noise of running water, traffic speeding past the living room windows and, of course, his restless kindergarten student and niece, Sofia. She will run and scream through the house to pass the hours until it’s her time to learn. This is what a classroom looks like in 2020.

In homes all across Wisconsin, some version of this scene plays out every school day to varying degrees of success and frustration. Many school districts opted to start the fall semester online or with a hybrid model, giving parents the option of in-person or virtual classes. This choice, however accommodating it might appear on paper, is often not as simple as it might sound for many families like Aylin Sok’s. We’re cousins and Skyler’s tutor is my older sister, so I see and hear this struggle from multiple perspectives.

8:45 a.m.

As a single mother of two, Aylin has to be up at 7:30 a.m. every school day to get her kids ready for their Zoom meetings at 8:45 a.m. Her son Skyler, 8, and her daughter Sofia, 5, sleep for an extra 30 minutes before she makes sure they brush their teeth and change their clothes. She tries to simulate a normal school day — so no pajamas in the virtual classroom.

Aylin starts the school day managing the chaos of two separate Zoom calls, on two separate school-issued Chromebooks, at the exact same time. She wishes there was more time to run from one to the other. Once the kids are done, they have a cup of milk while their mom heads to the nail salon to start her 8-hour work day.

9:40 a.m.

Shortly after Aylin leaves, Linda arrives to assume the role of Skyler’s tutor and Sofia’s babysitter. Normally, Linda would only babysit on occasion. But in a pandemic, family roles are redefined and those who are capable, though not necessarily qualified, take on new responsibilities. Linda is a 23-year-old taking a gap year after graduating from UW–Madison with a bachelor’s degree in psychology last summer.

ELA

For the first part of the day, Skyler focuses on English Language Arts. He watches an instructional video from his teacher before reading independently for 20 minutes. His current book of choice is the brightly illustrated “Doctor Strange: Mystery of the Dark Magic.” Linda helps sound out words and guides him through reading assignments that range from annotating key passages in the story with sticky notes to writing plot summaries to recording videos where he describes the book.

Above: Skyler presses a stuffed animal against his face while working through an assignment at his home in Greenfield.

Opposite, top left: Sofia hugs a stuffed bear named Tomato as she starts her lessons in the virtual classroom.

Top right: Sofia eats a cracker and joins Skyler as he watches a video for class.

Middle: Linda walks her young cousin Skyler through an assignment.

Bottom left: While the kids eat lunch, Linda gets through science class, which usually consists of short videos.

Bottom right: Skyler reads the brightly illustrated “Doctor Strange: Mystery of the Dark Magic” as part of his ELA lesson.

A Bored Kindergartener

Kindergarten is a time for kids to play. To interact and learn the basic rules of the game. Teachers are authority figures who are caring but strict, and Sofia needs this kind of structure to learn. Aylin says Sofia is more challenging than Skyler because, “...she wants to play more and she will listen to her teacher more than me. Because I’m her mom, she says, ‘You not my teacher. You my mom.’”

Linda doesn’t exactly fit the bill either. At the end of the day, they’re family and that comes with a different set of expectations. Because Sofia has nothing to do in the morning, she wants to steal some of the attention Linda gives to Skyler. Sofia will often sit next to her brother or on Linda’s lap and listen to Skyler’s videos or doodle. Linda has to make sure Sofia doesn’t bother Skyler too much, which is hard given the endless amount of noise a bored 5-year-old is capable of generating. Skyler enjoys talking to the camera and thinks of it as making a movie. For those assignments, Linda becomes a production manager and editor, ensuring Sofia stays quiet and out of frame.

In the morning, she guides Skyler through virtual third grade using Google Classroom. Sofia has to wait to learn until her uncle is done working through his own virtual schooling for the day. The kids have come to expect this assistance. While it may seem normal to them, this isn’t a guarantee for every child. That’s why Aylin says she feels lucky to have her younger brother and Linda, “Because without them, I can’t go to work, and then I wouldn’t have any income. And I have to choose between my kids’ school and financially supporting them. So it’s hard. Sometimes I don’t know what to choose.”

Noon

Despite the pandemic upending virtually all aspects of the school day, the kids’ appetite and excitement for lunchtime has not changed. As noon approaches, they become increasingly less focused and silly. Throughout the day, the kids repeatedly ask when they get to eat as if their constant questioning will make the clock skip ahead to lunchtime. For Skyler and Sofia, being at home has its benefits. They raid the refrigerator and cabinets for snacks whenever they want. It is not uncommon to see Sofia stuffing her face with marshmallows or Skyler playing with a crinkled candy wrapper as he works. To maximize time, Linda knocks out science class while they eat since they’re generally just quick videos. Skyler says it’s his favorite subject but, “...it’s too easy. All we have to do is look. They don’t really teach us anything.”

Time to Type Once their stomachs are filled, Linda summons her remaining patience and directs what’s left of Skyler’s attention to online math games and his sworn enemy: typing lessons. Linda says doing so much on the computer frustrates him. He struggles using the trackpad to navigate. Skyler wishes there were less glitches. If Skyler had it his way, Linda would do his typing for him and he’s not afraid to ask. She tries to get him to progress from typing exclusively with his index fingers, which never fails to frustrate him. Skyler drags on through the assignment, oscillating between periods of intense focus and moments of unbridled energy. Linda rolls her eyes in frustration while battling to stay awake.

Linda struggles to get Skyler to focus after lunch.

Early Afternoon Sofia finally gets her turn in the virtual classroom when Vanchhoeng finishes his classes for the day at around 2:30 p.m. At 15, he looks like the prototypical high school freshman — lanky and bright-eyed with a touch of acne he is well aware of. Sofia’s desk sits adjacent to Skyler’s. It’s the same wooden table where they eat lunch. He removes the remnants of their food with a Clorox wipe before setting down his new touchscreen laptop to start her lessons.

Vanchhoeng is being forced to grow up much faster than most kids his age, and it shows. He has the quiet and calm demeanor of an adult taking one for the team. He doesn’t want to do this, but he understands that this is a sacrifice he has to make for his family. He says, “I mean, Sofi — no one’s gonna teach her so, I have to do it.”

Full Classroom The classroom reaches peak volume as Skyler finishes his work while Sofia starts her first lesson. Skyler says he can’t focus, and neither of the siblings can resist the urge to talk across the classroom with their outdoor voices. Randomly, Skyler or Sofia will check on what the other is doing. Every now and then, an uncertain peace washes over the room as the kids try to focus.

Three Long Hours Vanchhoeng sets aside three hours for tutoring Sofia. In that time, she learns about syllables using chopsticks to clap to the beat. Then, the living room transforms into a gym where she breaks a sweat running around. Her heartbeat returns to normal with a coloring activity. Vanchhoeng directs the last of Sofia’s energy to the alphabet and reading comprehension. His irritation gets the best of him here, and he raises his voice whenever Sofia clicks random answers — it’s self-imposed stress from his decision to actually teach rather than give her the answers.

Waiting for Mom

When they’re done for the day, the kids head to the playroom littered with years of birthday and Christmas presents. The multicolored scribbles on the walls offer a glimpse into Skyler’s mind. They were his sketchbook before he started making his own comics. The kids pass the time playing until their mom comes home. X

Skyler stretches across the ottoman that doubles as his desk chair after typing lessons — his nemesis.

A bored Vanchhoeng watches Sofia’s instructional video for music class as Sofia taps chopsticks together to practice syllables.

Sofia dances along to a music video for physical education class while Skyler watches.