In the days since the Coronavirus outbreak began, Nabil Nagi has been working from home. His job as the English Language Development Director for Hamtramck Public Schools hasn\u2019t been easy, with some meetings going until midnight.<\/p>\n
The entire Hamtramck school district is in a stressful time. Surrounding Hamtramck is Detroit, where the Superintendent of its public schools has called for an end to Michigan\u2019s school year entirely. Further down Woodward, the wealthier school districts have made the transition to online learning more easily, since the vast majority of students have access to Internet and education materials at home.<\/p>\n
But Hamtramck doesn\u2019t quite have that choice. For one, the large population has a dense collection of people living under difficult circumstances. Never mind internet access or at-home education materials, Hamtramck\u2019s parents are among the most at-risk for losing their jobs in this crisis.<\/p>\n
Nabil is actively taking part in finding solutions for education in the face of these problems. And by any means, that\u2019s not an easy task, especially since Nabil has four kids at home from school every day. When his kids would normally be at school, Nabil is now helping them get through their online lessons.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m homeschooling at the moment and doing my job at the same time,\u201d Nabil said. \u201cAnd it\u2019s quite the challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Nabil\u2019s son Mohammed is learning about fractions this week. Mohammed takes his computer to his father to show him the online lessons. They start with a short video, and then some example problems. If Mohammed gets the math problem right, he moves on. If he gets it wrong, the program shows him another video to try clarifying the concept.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey give you like math stuff, reading stuff and social studies,\u201d Mohammed says.<\/p>\n
Mohammed\u2019s favorite subject in school is math. He actually prefers to learn it on the computer, although he\u2019s not quite old enough to explain why he likes it more. Still, Mohammed says he\u2019s struggling to get through social studies without a teacher.<\/p>\n
Even though most of the subjects are easier online for Mohammed, there\u2019s still a lot about school that he misses.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have a lot about school that I miss,\u201d Mohammed said. \u201cWe have Gym and we miss a lot of things in gym. And music, Social Studies, and everything in school.\u201d<\/p>\n
Since the Coronavirus Outbreak began in Michigan, many teachers have struggled to transition into online learning so quickly. As one teacher in Farmington Hills put it, many educators are given just a week to change the entire course of their school year.<\/p>\n