About eight weeks into online learning for my 2^nd grader and I have to say — it’s not horrible. After getting past the first few bumps in the road of technology issues and my son learning how to navigate his school’s online platform, it’s been successful. In an effort to see the positive side of this new environment, I started to think about all the new life skills transferable to the business world that he is learning.

Time management — We made it clear from Week 2 that it was not just mom and dad’s responsibility to keep track of the schedule for the day. He needed to take some responsibility in knowing where he needed to be online at what time. I do still remember that he was only 7 years and 3 months at the start of online learning, so we’ve appropriately set him up for success. Tips: We’ve printed off the schedule and included additional notes from the teacher that have been sent to us for length of time spent on each activity; that way he can look at start and end times to know when he needs to move on. Like a true millennial mom, we’ve also let him use his Google assistant on his Chromebook or on the Google mini in the office to set timers for himself.
Navigate a Computer/Internet — A bit earlier than expected, but he’s now learned how to fully use a laptop/computer, more than just navigating to YouTube to watch videos of kids playing with toys. He knows how to open a file folder to grab a document for uploading, navigate the Google search bar when he needs to research something, and get to his Gmail inbox when mom and dad have forwarded an email he needs to see from the teacher.
Conference Calls — He’s learning about appropriate conference call etiquette like using the mute button (some co-workers could still use a lesson in that ??) and not blurting out answers or talking without being called upon. He’s also learning how to do a “professional” video call besides just Facetiming with family and how to use the chat function in online web platforms like Zoom.
Remote Work Flexibility — By seeing on at least a handful of occasions now that students are working from the beach, he’s learned that remote work can be fun and that you can do it from virtually anywhere. He’s also learned that when mom and dad are “working from home” we are actually working.

As I try to help my son adapt to COVID era schooling, I find myself reflecting on how my past experiences shaped who I am now. I still remember the day off from school that my dad made me do field rides with him; I was in the third grade. Instead of wasting my day away and staying at home with my mother while she slept (she worked third shift), my dad decided I was at an appropriate age to start learning more about potential careers. He was in sales for a steel company and traveled all over the Midwest weekly on his sales calls; so there I was at the age of 9 or 10 along for the ride that day.

I want to say we went over to the Iowa border or up to Wisconsin as it was only a 2-3 hour drive from Chicago, but that’s not important. What is important is that to this day, I attribute that moment, that ride to my future career goals of wanting to be sales (I landed in marketing, but close enough). Was it fun at the time? No — and my dad made me write him a 1-2 page book report on what I had learned in my composition notebook after. It was only in my adult working life did I appreciate that moment and so many others that would prepare me for the business world that I am in now.

And so, while the days will seem long and challenging, it is that look back on my life that reminds me during these COVID virtual learning times that these life skills my son is learning will no doubt prepare him for a future in business, and that he, too, will look back and make lemonade out of lemons. I hope the same for you.

E-Learning: applications for the business world

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