“Mom! I need your help!… Dad! I don’t understand what to do!”

Imagine teaching a lesson with your kids right next door needing your attention right away.

As much as students have struggles with online school, teachers, and staff at Hoover High School are also experiencing very similar obstacles, especially ones who have children learning from home alongside them.

Balancing being a teacher while having kids who are also learning is a whole obstacle on its own.

Hoover staff members Romela Kachikyan, Naeiri Policky, and Jason Pinsker get through everyday teaching their classes or attending Zoom Meetings all while being attentive and supporting their children who are attending online Zoom sessions for school.

It was a much easier time when all parents had to do was drop off their kids at school knowing that their kids were in good hands and had all the resources needed to complete their work and activities.

As for many, online school can be difficult and tiring.

Policky, Hoover’s Teacher Specialist, has a son in first grade who is not as independent on Zoom as in physical learning.

“This is the first time he’s been on the computer for so long,” says Policky, “so he has a hard time focusing for hours at a time. I basically have to multi-task with work and being a mom at all times.”

One might think that first grade is not hard at all compared to being a high school student, however, it is much more difficult for the younger students in elementary school to maneuver their way through Zoom and online platforms. High school students are old enough to be responsible for themselves and can figure out tech issues pretty quickly.

Younger kids usually search for attention, therefore, interruptions often occur during school hours for teachers.

For Pinsker, the Digital Arts teacher and Hoover Technology Coordinator, his tactics for when his children need assistance can be very effective most of the time.

“I often shoo them away with my hand out of frame and my kids know that they need to come back later,” he said.

As nerve-wracking as that may seem, “My kids often sometimes slip adorable notes or drawings under the door, which helps lighten the stress at times,” Pinsker added.

Kachikyan, one of the three assistant principals at Hoover, is “feeling overwhelmed and constantly worried about their children’s education” reflecting on how she feels with her two children in school.

Support is one of the most important things students of any grade level need right now.

Not only is their academics a worry, but also their mental health because of the pandemic. Besides the rough days, Policky says, “It is inconvenient and not ideal at all, but this is our new normal for now and we’re just going along and doing the best we can.”