Items

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  12/07/2021

  Heather Perrault Oral History, 2021/12/07

  Heather Perrault is an Eau Claire, WI resident and currently works for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections as a parole officer. In this interview, Heather talks about her experience with COVID and how it affected her life as a stay-at-home mom/ pseudo-teacher for her kids as well as her job that she rejoined about halfway through COVID. She also talks about how COVID has affected her family and friends in terms of their physical and mental health and how the people she oversees as a parole officer may be affected by COVID as well. Heather also gives future generations advice on how she thinks they should look at information about the pandemic in the future.
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  12/10/2021

  Courtney Erickson Oral History, 2021/12/10

  Courtney Erickson is a single mother who lives in Chippewa Falls, WI with her four children, as young as kindergarten through 16 years old. In this interview, Courtney Erickson discusses her experience being a caregiver during COVID-19 while also balancing school and work and the difficulties that go along with those responsibilities such as overseeing her children’s Zoom meetings and working from home. She shares the ways the pandemic affected her family life, the health of those around her, as well as her struggles with recovering from addiction amidst the pandemic.
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  2022-04-28

  COVID-19, Religion, and Public Life Reflection

  The COVID-19 pandemic has created a one-of-a-kind situation for our generation, causing many countries to go into lockdown and many people to lose their jobs, loved ones, and social life. The pandemic affected people of all races, religions, and genders and continues to do so. Businesses, schools, and job offices around the world were forced to close, store shelves were emptied of canned food and toilet paper, and people were limited to the amount of food they could purchase. Covid forced me and many others to work and attend school from home via Zoom, which was a new and interesting experience for me because I was accustomed to having a daily routine, such as waking up in the morning and getting ready to go to work and school. During covid, on the other hand, all I had to do was roll out of bed, fix my hair, and attend a zoom meeting in my pajamas. I'd have to say that physically separating myself from people I cared about, such as friends, family, and coworkers was the most difficult part for me. Another effect of Covid was the cancellation of religious activities and in-person services all over the world. Family members who died as a result of covid-19 had their funerals virtually streamed on zoom, which was especially difficult for many people because they couldn't go pay their respects to the deceased and loved ones. Many debates erupted about whether covid is real or not during this time period, and the issue quickly devolved into a religious/political one. People began to align with various political parties and religious leaders, and the power and opinions of these politicians and religious leaders exerted a strong influence over their followers. In terms of religion, one of the most noticeable effects of covid on me was that it weakened my religious faith, whereas it strengthened the religious faith of others. I lost a sense of joy and support that came with participating in prayer and holiday services because I couldn't attend them. Even though covid is still affecting people all over the world, we're learning how to try to return to life before covid. It may never be the same, but we can hope it just gets better.
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  2022-04-27

  Poverty and the Pandemic

  My story touches on the importance of who holds the power over your life. Ultimately it is written to give an account to future generations so we never go back there again.
• 
  04/30/2021

  Anonymous Oral History, 2021/04/16

  C19OH
• 
  2021-10-08

  Then and Now

  My name is Karleigh Wissel. I am 12 years old, and I attend Lone Star middle school (Nampa, ID). I would say that my last normal school year was 4th grade. I was nine years old and went to a private school. When I was in fifth grade, about halfway through the year, everything changed. The whole school quickly transitioned too online. The following year I was going to be in sixth grade, and we were going to continue with the same private school, but it just was not safe. So, my parents decided to homeschool me and my little brother. Wearing a mask is not mandatory but I wear it anyway. I must wear a mask all the time and the only time I get take it off is when I am outside and when I eat lunch. Also, I must be very aware of my surroundings and if someone coughs, I try my best to stay away from them. I would say that starting 7th grade this year has been a little hard. Since I was homeschooled, I did not get that middle school experience. I felt like everyone knew how to open their lockers and transition from class to class. It took me about a week to get the hang of it.
• 
  2021-07-27

  The years of struggle!

  In 2018 I had to face a lot of emotional traumas in my life. These traumas made me a single mother of my 3 children. I was having a hard time adjusting to being the sole provider and the only person my kids could now rely on. I had never been to fond of school but with my new life I had been contemplating going back. After a lot of support of my family I decided that it would be best for me and my kids if I went back to school. I joined an Associates degree course for Social work and human services. I felt like I was thriving in school for the first time. Then the pandemic hit and my world changed again. Now I had all my classes online as well as homeschooling and raising 3 children on my own. At times I felt like the universe was truly against me these last few years. At the end I have just realized that nothing is to hard for me to overcome. I'm so grateful for mine and my families health at the end of this pandemic and I'm grateful for experiences and lessons learned.
• 
  2021-03-16

  Student enrollment is declining...where have Arizona Students gone?

  This article highlights the declining enrollments of students in Arizona and their absence, so too does the funding disappear. According to the featured article, the combination of an approximate loss of 10% percent of the student population coupled with a drastic cut in the funding levels has significantly impacted the financial operations and organization of public school districts. The enrollment loss is mostly concentrated on the elementary levels, yet a notable loss of enrollment in high schools is of some concern. Declining enrollment not only affects the students' ability to develop important critical thinking and life skills, but in-person instruction should aid the student in recognizing the workload that comes with advanced degrees and education. Another option offers students the ability to learn through the hybrid instructional model.
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  2021-02-15

  #JOTPYPhoto from Marissa Rhodes

  This picture encapsulates my home life (which is my ONLY life) during the COVID-19 pandemic. It's difficult managing kids, their school, and working full time with absolutely ZERO separation between work, school, and play. #JOTPYphoto
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  2020-05-12

  Making this Moment in Time: My Covid-19 Reality

  This is my story and my truth regarding my moment in time in my new Covid-19 reality. This story was originally done in May 2020 on behalf of a contest I entered for the Bronx Community College Spoken Word Club. It expresses what I was feeling and going through during that exact time at the height of the pandemic.
• 2020-10-12

  Life of a Homeshcooler

  - In times of covid I am not as social in person but have switched my social online with friends playing games and D&D through, discord, zoom and text. -Before covid I had a schedule of when I went to classes, co-ops and saw my friends. Social is now more erratic because everyone is home and schedules are so varied. This makes it hard to talk to friends. So now I have to adapt more to others schedules in order to spend time online with friends. -Because of the way we socialize I spend more time than normal online. -My homeschool life however has not changed that much, probably do more academics than before. I have been taking multiple online class over the years so when covid happened things didn’t change that much for me academically. -Another positive is that my personal library has expanded because getting to the library and picking out books is limited since they aren’t open and only allow curbside pick up. -Got more chickens, since we are home all the time. -Since I don’t leave the house very often, I have been able to get more schoolwork done. -Since I am home more, I have more time for hobbies and have taken up learning blacksmithing.
• 2020-08-22

  The meadow people: lessons from homeschooling day 1

  Do I have what it takes to homeschool my kid? I never thought I would consider homeschooling, though I find myself in this unusual position. I am working from home, teaching online, and the current online curriculum isn’t working for my daughter. So after talking to one of the ASU JOTPY interns (Chris Twing) who also homeschools her kid I had the chance to look at 3 different homeschool programs she sent me. In the end, I liked the curriculum from Blossom and Root. It seems to encourage creativity and individual expression, and I love that. The math will require a supplemental program, but if she wants to go back to the bilingual school she’ll have to pass a math exam in Spanish anyway. So, either way I’ve got to come up with a Spanish math plan. This picture shows one of the activities from the literature lesson. We read two stories from The Meadow People, the “Selfish Caterpillar,” and the “Lazy Snail.” She had to make characters out of clay and retell the stories in her own words. It was honestly a lot of fun, and much better engagement. I love working, but this is helping me see a way to support by child and connect with her through education.
• 
  2020-08-18

  5 hours on Zoom is too much

  Sitting next to my 6yo while she sits on Zoom for 5 hours isn’t working. The teachers assume that a parent is there ready to jump in at any moment, and if we aren’t problems bubble up. For example, I was working on Maya’s second day of school and I missed that she took a bathroom break and missed that her teacher scolded her for taking one. I emailed the school’s principal, because while I really, really want her to attend the bilingual school, I don’t think it’s possible with the current set up. I wrote an email and asked, basically, what would happen if she unenrolled and came back.
• 
  07/09/2020

  Chris Twing Oral History, 2020/07/09

  This is an interview with Chris Twing describing her life during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chris lives with her husband and her teenage son, and her mother lives in an attached home. In this interview Chris discusses her unhappiness with government response to COVID-19, her hopes and worries, and describes her community’s response to the pandemic.
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  2020-04-17

  Life In Isolation: The Coronavirus... Jennifer Lyn McFall

  A virtual exhibition by the Evansville Museum of Art, History and Science
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  2020-06-25

  Should we buy school clothes or pajamas?

  When the covid-19 pandemic hit the U.S. almost all schools sent students home and continued school through virtual learning online or by offering education packets for drop off/pick up. It's the end of June and many school still have not announced their plan for this fall. Will students be returning to the school building to resume learning as usual? Will they be going part time? Will they continue learning from home? Will parents remove their children from public school and start homeschooling them? No one really knows yet. This meme struck me as very funny for this reason.
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  2020-05-01

  Living

  Living