VOA Š CONNECT EPISODE # 178 AIR DATE: 06 11 2021 TRANSCRIPT OPEN ((VO/NAT)) ((Banner)) Parent and Teacher ((SOT)) ((Janessa Ford, First Grade Teacher, Kindergarten Parent)) Give me a thumbs up. ItÕs very rare that you get to see your child as a student and itÕs very rare that children get to see their parents as workers. ((Animation Transition)) ((Banner)) Too Much Screen Time ((SOT)) ((Ron Johnson, Wood Artist, Stay-at-Home Dad)) When COVID kicked off, I wasnÕt really prepared to having both of my children home throughout the day. I had to really balance that. ((Animation Transition)) ((Banner)) Talking it Out ((SOT)) ((Karim Roberts, Sixth Grader)) I know like theyÕre kind of going like over a lot of review. IÕm not really learning anything. But like itÕs hard for me to learn because I donÕt move. I just keep. I donÕt keep still. I move. ((Open Animation)) BLOCK A ((PKG)) FIRST GRADE TEACHER ((Previously aired February 2021)) ((TRT: 04:50)) ((Topic Banner: Mother + Teacher + Pandemic)) ((Reporter/Camera: Lisa Vohra)) ((Map: Urbana, Maryland)) ((Main Character: 1 female)) ((Sub Character: 1 male)) ((MUSIC/NATS)) Noah, do you want a turn? Um, yeah. ((NATS)) Which is more, scared or terrified? What in? Show me the one that is more. Scared or terrified? ((Janessa Ford, First Grade Teacher, Kindergarten Parent)) So, teaching first grade virtually and having a child who is virtually learning kindergarten has been pretty interesting. Very chaotic. Not chaotic in a bad way, chaotic as in thereÕs a lot going on under the roof of our house at one time. ((NATS)) Go ahead and click that blue box. ((Janessa Ford, First Grade Teacher, Kindergarten Parent)) I have 20 students learning and then I have a kindergartner whoÕs also trying to learn. ((NATS)) ((Janessa Ford, First Grade Teacher, Kindergarten Parent)) Since he is in kindergarten, he does not know how to, pretty much, login by himself with like the passcode and everything. So, I have his computer on my lap and IÕm logging him in while IÕm communicating with my students. ((MUSIC/NATS)) ((Janessa Ford, First Grade Teacher, Kindergarten Parent)) IÕm very open with my students. So, I told the adults in the beginning of the year and throughout that I do have a kindergartner at home, and IÕm here pretty much by myself all day, while my husbandÕs at work. ((NATS)) ((Robbie Ford, Kindergartner)) I have to meet with my Ms. James in ten minutes. ((Janessa Ford, First Grade Teacher, Kindergarten Parent)) Yep, I have an alarm on my phone thatÕs going to tell me, okay. All right, so youÕve got ten minutes. You have Brain Flakes in there. ((NATS)) ((Janessa Ford, First Grade Teacher, Kindergarten Parent)) I am continuously trying to listen in on his learning as well. So, I wear headphones and one headphone is always out, so that I can hear whatÕs going on. Because if he minimizes his screen, if something happens with his technology, I need to be able to put my students on mute, tell them give me a second, and fix it real quick. ((NATS)) ((Janessa Ford, First Grade Teacher, Kindergarten Parent)) Seven-year-olds cannot sit for 30 minutes or more. I canÕt sit for 30 minutes or more. So, thereÕs a lot more brain breaks. ((NATS)) ((Janessa Ford, First Grade Teacher, Kindergarten Parent)) So, weÕre going to go ahead and start our 20 minute break, okay. Give me a thumbs up. Got it. All right. Go run outside or something. ItÕs really nice. ((MUSIC/NATS)) ((Janessa Ford, First Grade Teacher, Kindergarten Parent)) It gives enough time for them to use the restroom, eat a snack, play with a toy in their house and then come back and be ready. ((MUSIC/NATS)) ((Robbie Ford, Kindergartner)) These crackers for you. ((Janessa Ford, First Grade Teacher, Kindergarten Parent)) Okay. ((Janessa Ford, First Grade Teacher, Kindergarten Parent)) The parents and adults of my students have been phenomenal during this. TheyÕre very supportive and understanding. ((MUSIC/NATS)) ((Janessa Ford, First Grade Teacher, Kindergarten Parent)) So, what I want you to think about is what emotions does The Recess Queen have? And what does the word ŌbullyÕ mean? ((Janessa Ford, First Grade Teacher, Kindergarten Parent)) TheyÕre telling me things the students canÕt tell me. For example, ŅMs. Ford, youÕre talking to your son and youÕre not on mute.Ó Like, things like that. And I think itÕs cool that parents get to understand what youÕre actually teaching. It gives me a sense of confidence as well, and it makes me stay on my A game at all times. ((MUSIC/NATS)) ((Janessa Ford, First Grade Teacher, Kindergarten Parent)) I need you to stretch your faces. What? YouÕre gonna stretch your faces because weÕre going to make different faces to figure out if weÕre happy, sad, angry. Show me angry. ((Janessa Ford, First Grade Teacher, Kindergarten Parent)) Being with him every day, I can support him. Also understanding my child in a different setting. ItÕs very rare that you get to see your child as a student, and itÕs very rare that children get to see their adults and parents as workers. ((MUSIC/NATS)) ((Janessa Ford, First Grade Teacher, Kindergarten Parent)) So, can anyone tell me what we are supposed to be discussing? ((Janessa Ford, First Grade Teacher, Kindergarten Parent)) He can go outside more. He can play more. ((NATS)) ItÕs lunchtime. We have to eat. We have 20 minutes. ((Janessa Ford, First Grade Teacher, Kindergarten Parent)) And we just get to have a different relationship than we normally would. ((NATS)) ((Janessa Ford, First Grade Teacher, Kindergarten Parent)) You want to share an apple with me? ((Janessa Ford, First Grade Teacher, Kindergarten Parent)) There are difficulties, donÕt get me wrong, with balancing home life and work life. As a mom, I like to keep both separate, but theyÕre now both one. ((MUSIC/NATS)) ((Janessa Ford, First Grade Teacher, Kindergarten Parent)) IÕm planning with my teammates for our next part of our day. I sent a group of books to them through the computer. Online books for the kids to access that have to do with what weÕre learning and reading. ((Janessa Ford, First Grade Teacher, Kindergarten Parent)) Kids are very adaptable. I think that is something, as an adult, I need to also understand. ((NATS)) ((Janessa Ford, First Grade Teacher, Kindergarten Parent)) Mozzarella pizza. ((Janessa Ford, First Grade Teacher, Kindergarten Parent)) They all have different backgrounds, different things going on at home, but trying to give them a support in one place and give them encouragement and knowing that they can do this and we can do it. ((MUSIC/NATS)) TEASE ((VO/NAT)) Coming upÉ.. ((Banner)) Parent Advocate ((SOT)) ((Saqib Siddiqui, Patent Attorney, Kindergarten Parent)) How was school? ((Azaan Siddiqui, Kindergartner)) Terrible. ((Saqib Siddiqui, Patent Attorney, Kindergarten Parent)) Every day, after four, my kid is just so sad, you know. And I have to, I have to say, ŌGood job. You did great. IÕm so proud of you.Õ They feel like theyÕre doing something wrong by not understanding. BREAK ONE BUMP IN ((ANIM)) BLOCK B ((PKG)) STAY AT HOME DAD / WOOD ARTIST ((Previously aired November 2020)) ((TRT: 06:15)) ((Banner: A Balancing Act)) ((Reporter/Camera: Lisa Vohra)) ((Map: Vienna, Virginia)) ((Main Characters: 1 male)) ((Sub Characters: 1 male; 1 female)) ((NATS)) ((Ron Johnson, Wood Artist, Stay-at-Home Dad)) My name is Ron Johnson. I grew up all over the world. ((Courtesy: Ron Johnson)) ((Ron Johnson, Wood Artist, Stay-at-Home Dad)) My dad was in the military. I spent 25 years in the military myself. After getting out of the military, I decided to start working with wood and it was about 10 years ago. I transitioned from working with wood to make furniture to making pieces of art. ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Ron Johnson, Wood Artist, Stay-at-Home Dad)) I use wood truly as my medium. IÕve studied everything from spoons to bowl making to furniture making to sculpture. The peace I find when IÕm carving, I really do go to a different place. Wood really kind of talks back to you. It really speaks to you when youÕre working on it and you get to have this one-on-one communication with the tree. ((NATS: Ron Johnson 10/10:45 says math, whole group meet link. So, thereÕs a small group schedule.)) ((Ron Johnson, Wood Artist, Stay-at-Home Dad)) IÕm a stay-at-home dad, in addition to being an artist. I have a first grader and a kindergartner. ((NATS: Ron Johnson Daddy tax.)) ((Ron Johnson, Wood Artist, Stay-at-Home Dad)) When COVID kicked off, I wasnÕt really prepared to having both of my children home throughout the day. I had to really balance that. ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Ron Johnson, Wood Artist, Stay-at-Home Dad)) We try to treat it like a normal school day, like theyÕre going to be heading out to school. So, I get them up. They get their clothes on. TheyÕre not in their night night clothes, for example. Then, when school starts, IÕve got one child is downstairs in the basement and one child on the top floor. ((NATS: What is the time?)) ((Ron Johnson, Wood Artist, Stay-at-Home Dad)) This is my work area. I tend to sit here and listen to both the downstairs classroom and the upstairs classroom, with a little bit of an ear on both classrooms, because the kids get into a, a little bit of, you know, their pattern. But the classes donÕt match except lunch time is pretty close together. Their breaks are different. So, I have to send one outside on a break and one, you know, stays inside during their class. My son, whoÕs younger in kindergarten, he generally tends to be, heÕll turn his computer off and heÕll just say, ŅOh, I think IÕm done.Ó And so, I have to refocus him back down to the classroom. Also, I go and look at their class schedule each day and I update it very quickly to see whatÕs going to come up, because it changes periodically. And both kids try to stay on track, but honestly, itÕs tough for me to keep up and these folks, you know, little kids trying to keep track. ((NATS: Pumpkins, pumpkins, pumpkins.)) ((Ron Johnson, Wood Artist, Stay-at-Home Dad)) Having them both online and the attention span really is the issue. They donÕt want to be staring at a screen. ((NATS: Ron Johnson and daughter Look all these people are in there. Why are they in there? IÕm not supposed to be in there.)) ((Ron Johnson, Wood Artist, Stay-at-Home Dad)) To understand and to navigate technology for a five and six- year-old is pretty daunting. Trying to figure out how to get them comfortable with technology, so they can navigate to their classrooms correctly. ItÕs a lot weÕre asking of the teachers and itÕs a lot weÕre asking of our children for sure. And parents. ((NATS: Ron Johnson I made you a nice sandwich.)) ((Ron Johnson, Wood Artist, Stay-at-Home Dad)) The positives about having our children home with me throughout the day is how close weÕve become as a family. One thing we get to do is we get to schedule out our time really well. We eat lunch together. We eat breakfast together. We eat dinner together. And all those meals just add that communication and you build a really decent relationship with your children. ((NATS)) ((Ron Johnson, Wood Artist, Stay-at-Home Dad)) So thatÕs one positive. The other positive is, IÕm spending time with them in their classrooms and understanding what theyÕre learning, so I get to, I get to affect what theyÕre learning too. I get to understand that. ((NATS: Ron Johnson and teacher Ms. Jacoby. Hello. Yes. Hi, yeah. Quick question. We had some computer issues. Now weÕre on iPad for a few minutes. Just wondering, what are they supposed to be doing right now? Oh, we just did letters. We found objects that begin withÉ.)) ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Ron Johnson, Wood Artist, Stay-at-Home Dad)) We do bike rides almost every day, just to relieve some of that frustration and that built up pressure. ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Ron Johnson, Wood Artist, Stay-at-Home Dad)) How this has impacted my personal flow as an artist? ItÕs been the seven hours I may grab throughout the day when my children are both in school to that right brain shift, to become creative. ItÕs not something that you can just, itÕs not a light switch. You have to find that peaceful moment. You start moving yourself forward. ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Ron Johnson, Wood Artist, Stay-at-Home Dad)) So, really to manage between the kidsÕ online school, spending all day in and out of the house, I have to really grab time. And I have to make that time for myself, which means get up earlier in the morning, create and carve out time in the evening when theyÕre kind of calming down and winding down from the day. Sometimes, I just walk outside and work on a very small piece and then walk back inside, because itÕs in my head and I want to make sure I can put it into the piece IÕm working on. So, IÕm thinking about that, the piece IÕm currently working on, all the time, throughout the day. ItÕs my, itÕs my timeout spot for myself on a stressful day. ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Courtesy: Ron Johnson)) ((Ron Johnson, Wood Artist, Stay-at-Home Dad)) Some pieces IÕve made, one is ŌDreamsÕ. A lot of people have been having these just amazing dreams or, you know, chaotic dreams. And I created a piece specifically from COVID, the influence on the dreams that IÕve been having. And I thought, well, this is something that other people are having. So, I thought IÕd make a piece to, to represent that. And another one was, trying to find center in my own life as everyone else is, with this new world weÕre, weÕre experiencing. ((Courtesy: Ron Johnson)) ((Ron Johnson, Wood Artist, Stay-at-Home Dad)) I made one piece called ŌFinding CenterÕ and it really is, itÕs also, I created the chaos all around. ThereÕs only two pieces that marry up in the entire piece and thatÕs finding it right dead in the center. ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Popup Banner: Following the interview, ŌDreamsÕ was selected to be in the 2020 Virginia Arts Juried Show)) ((PKG)) PARENT ADVOCATE ((Previously aired December 2020)) ((TRT: 04:17)) ((Banner: Parent Advocate)) ((Reporter/Camera: Lisa Vohra)) ((Map: Vienna, Virginia)) ((Main Characters: 1 male; 1 female)) ((Sub Character: 1 male)) ((NATS: Saqib Siddiqui, Mahwesh Siddiqui)) If any kid says mean stuff you have to tell Ms. Scarborough. Okay? ((Saqib Siddiqui, Patent Attorney, Parent)) Our son, he just started kindergarten and he was quite excited. He loves going to school. He loved going to preschool. So, when summer happened, we were really struggling to find him, and heÕs the only child, to find him a social aspect of kindergarten. And he had been home since March, ((Courtesy: Saqib Siddiqui)) but then all of his soccer, tee ball, you know, name it, flag football, swimming, everything was canceled. ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Saqib Siddiqui, Patent Attorney, Parent)) Kindergarten is all about getting kids assimilated, what schoolÕs like. You bring your backpack, you put it here. You know, youÕre independent. YouÕre using the bathroom. ThatÕs what kindergarten is about. You canÕt do that virtually. ((Mahwesh Siddiqui, Online Advertising Consultant, Parent)) Yeah. ((Saqib Siddiqui, Patent Attorney, Parent)) You canÕt assimilate them to school when theyÕre not in school. ((NATS)) ((Saqib Siddiqui, Patent Attorney, Parent)) Luckily our friends moved nearby who we had known for a long time and their daughter was also going to kindergarten at the same time in the same school. So, the thought, the idea, crossed our mind, why donÕt we group up with them and start a pod. ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Saqib Siddiqui, Patent Attorney, Parent)) The idea was, these kids are going to be together in a room. You know, for kindergarten, I donÕt think they're going to expect a full virtual day. We hired a teacher. The teacher is going to guide them, help them do online learning, help them navigate the virtual classrooms. And then after that, she can supplement their teaching and either teach them more in- person or just, you know, reinforce what was taught online. ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Saqib Siddiqui, Patent Attorney, Parent)) But then, the school system changed it on us and they was like, kindergarteners 9-4, virtually, on the computer. ((Mahwesh Siddiqui, Online Advertising Consultant, Parent)) I mean, teachers are doing a great job. You know, theyÕre trying their best to do what they do in class, but itÕs not sustainable. ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Mahwesh Siddiqui, Online Advertising Consultant, Parent)) Their entire plan is, like, to keep them engaged for seven hours, give them what they used to do in school in-person. But letÕs just admit it, this is not normal times. ItÕs a pandemic. We donÕt need to give them seven hours of virtual, you know, learning. It doesnÕt have to be more than two hours. ((Saqib Siddiqui, Patent Attorney, Parent)) My biggest concern is weÕre, like, dimming their yearning for learning. When you set them up on something where theyÕre trying and theyÕre not seeing results internally, they get frustrated and they shut off. ((NATS)) ThatÕs the biggest concern I have. ((Saqib Siddiqui, Patent Attorney, Parent)) I communicated with the principal, with a group of 15 kindergarten parents. Just letting them know, they all agree, that hours need to be shortened from 9-4 to 9-1, you know. Then I went above that. I went to the, wrote to the Fairfax County board members, members-at-large. And for that I got a bigger group. ((NATS)) ((Saqib Siddiqui, Patent Attorney, Parent)) How was school? ((Azaan Siddiqui, Kindergartner)) Terrible. ((Saqib Siddiqui, Patent Attorney, Parent)) Every day, after four, my kid is just so sad, you know. And I have to, I have to say, ŌGood job. You did great. IÕm so proud of you.Õ They feel like theyÕre doing something wrong by not understanding. ((NATS)) ((Saqib Siddiqui, Patent Attorney, Parent)) NobodyÕs going to watch out for these kids' interests more than the parents themselves. And we want to be there advocating for them, because they canÕt advocate for them. I donÕt mind if I fail, but I want to be able to tell him that I tried my best to change the system when I thought the system was not watching out for them. ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Saqib Siddiqui, Patent Attorney, Parent)) I believe that education is a fundamental right and I want to change the system for everybody and make it better for everybody. ((Popup Banner: A few weeks later, Azaan attended an in-school pilot program twice a week. But when local COVID-19 cases began rising again, the program was paused.)) ((NATS/MUSIC)) TEASE ((VO/NAT)) Coming upÉ. ((Banner)) Talking it Out ((SOT)) ((Leighton Marashlian, 6th Grader)) Sometimes my lighting is like very, very bad and I look like a greasy egg, so. ((Omar Roberts, 6th Grader)) ItÕs way too long for looking at a screen. I know we have breaks, but still. BREAK TWO BUMP IN ((ANIM)) BLOCK C ((PKG)) 6th GRADERS VIRTUAL LEARNING ((Previously aired February 2021)) ((TRT: 5:42)) ((Topic Banner: Offline Talk About Online School)) ((Reporter/Camera: Lisa Vohra)) ((Map: Vienna, Virginia)) ((Main Characters: 2 female; 2 male)) ((Popup Banner: Virtual Learning; A Conversation)) ((MUSIC/NATS)) ((Leighton Marashlian, 6th Grader)) Hi, IÕm Leighton and IÕm 11 years old. ((Claire Nitowski, 6th Grader)) Hi, IÕm Claire and IÕm also 11 years old. ((Omar Roberts, 6th Grader)) Hi, my name is Omar and I am 11 years old. ((Karim Roberts, 6th Grader)) Hi, my nameÕs Karim and IÕm 11 years old. ((MUSIC/NATS)) ((Popup Banner: Real Talk)) ((Omar Roberts, 6th Grader)) How is virtual learning has been for you guys? ((Claire Nitowski, 6th Grader)) ItÕs been pretty good. ItÕs hard to like look at a screen for so long. ((Omar Roberts, 6th Grader)) And focus. ((Claire Nitowski, 6th Grader)) Yeah. ((Karim Roberts, 6th Grader)) They take like too many directions on things. A lot. ((Omar Roberts, 6th Grader)) Like you have to turn on your camera. And if you donÕt want to turn on your camera, you donÕt have to. ((Leighton Marashlian, 6th Grader)) Sometimes my lighting is like very, very bad and I look like a greasy egg, so. ((Omar Roberts, 6th Grader)) ItÕs way too long for looking at a screen. I know we have breaks, but still. ((Leighton Marashlian, 6th Grader)) ItÕs very easy to get distracted too. ((Claire Nitowski, 6th Grader)) Yeah. ((Leighton Marashlian, 6th Grader)) Because like you have like your phone or thereÕs like YouTube on your computer. And thereÕs like no way to block that. ((Claire Nitowski, 6th Grader)) The other thing is, a lot of times, the WiFi or the internet will like go down and like thatÕs another thing I dislike. ((Leighton Marashlian, 6th Grader)) That happened to be on Thursday, a couple of days ago. ((MUSIC/NATS)) ((Popup Banner: The Pros)) ((Karim Roberts, 6th Grader)) The thing I like about virtual learning, you can see a lot of people on their cameras. Then you can like meet up with friends on like Gmail. ((Claire Nitowski, 6th Grader)) Breakout rooms are like really fun because you could talk to your friends and itÕs like away from your teacher. ((Omar Roberts, 6th Grader)) Yeah. ((Claire Nitowski, 6th Grader)) And itÕs just a lot more enjoyable because you can, you know, you donÕt have to do exactly what the teacher is saying. You can still like have, enjoy your time learning. But youÕre like, youÕre with your friends. ((Leighton Marashlian, 6th Grader)) Some of the teachers, when youÕre in the classroom, when you ask to go to the bathroom, they're like, ŅNo, you can wait.Ó But now, you can just turn your camera off and like go to the bathroom. ((Claire Nitowski, 6th Grader)) Yeah, you definitely have more freedom. YouÕre working a lot more independently. ((MUSIC/NATS)) ((Popup Banner: The Changes)) ((Claire Nitowski, 6th Grader)) If you were in school, you can think of more excuses to, you know, ((Omar Roberts, 6th Grader)) get out. ((Claire Nitowski, 6th Grader)) No, not get out. But, like say you lost your work or whatever. But when youÕre in virtual learning, then all your assignments are there. You canÕt just like lose an assignment. You just have to get it done, because itÕs right there for you. ((MUSIC/NATS)) ((Popup Banner: Grading the Teacher)) ((Leighton Marashlian, 6th Grader)) Some of the teachers are actually like, like on top of breaks, like on top of work. ((Claire Nitowski, 6th Grader)) Our teacher is doing really well and sheÕs like one of the best teachers I've ever had. SheÕs so nice. And sheÕs like hasnÕt got mad or yelled at the class once. She also like shows her baby sometimes, you know, like. ((Karim Roberts, 6th Grader)) My teacherÕs great. SheÕs a nice teacher. ((MUSIC/NATS)) ((Popup Banner: Reversing Roles)) ((Leighton Marashlian, 6th Grader)) So, if I was the head of district like the principal or whatever, I would probably make the breaks, definitely like some of the breaks should be longer like, maybe, like 15-minute breaks. ((Omar Roberts, 6th Grader)) I would have just like 20 minutes of school, because all you need is 20 minutes of school or like an hour of school. ((Karim Roberts, 6th Grader)) If I was a leader, I would go back to school. ((MUSIC/NATS)) ((Popup Banner: Results)) ((Leighton Marashlian, 6th Grader)) Guys, do you think weÕre like actually like learning new stuff, or is it just like a review from last year? ((Claire Nitowski, 6th Grader)) I think, IÕm definitely learning a little bit. ItÕs like from school to actually like technology as well. IÕm learning a lot because like I used to be really bad at using computers, but like, since weÕre on the computer so much, IÕve been learning how to do a lot on there. ((Karim Roberts, 6th Grader)) I know like theyÕre kind of going like over a lot of review. IÕm not really learning anything. But like itÕs hard for me to learn because I donÕt move. I just keep. I donÕt keep still. I move. ((Claire Nitowski, 6th Grader)) You think youÕre learning stuff? ((Leighton Marashlian, 6th Grader)) Yeah, definitely in science, I mean social studies. Last year, I was just like we were learning about like Virginia, like only one state. ((MUSIC/NATS)) ((Popup Banner: Reminiscing)) ((Claire Nitowski, 6th Grader)) What I miss the most about school, itÕs just like, even when I like go back to school, it wonÕt be the same. YouÕll be wearing a mask. Like I would always give my teacher a hug when I go into school. IÕm just that kind of person. IÕm like really kind and stuff. ((Leighton Marashlian, 6th Grader)) So, I miss like hanging out with my friends. Like thatÕs what I miss. But like now, itÕs just like the screen and you only see their tiles. ((Karim Roberts, 6th Grader)) I miss most about school, a tad on that, I miss my friends a lot. ((MUSIC/NATS)) ((Popup Banner: Funny Stories)) ((Leighton Marashlian, 6th Grader)) One time, when I was talking like when I was like trying to present or something, my mom kept on walking into my room when sheÕs like, ŅAre you good?Ó Girl, IÕm trying to present right here. ((Claire Nitowski, 6th Grader)) My like funny/embarrassing moment is, sometimes in the beginning of, in the beginning of class, I just wait for it to start and IÕm like watching TikTok or whatever. I said like ŌhiÕ to my teacher. I was like ŌhiÕ. And then I thought I turned my microphone off, but I didnÕt, and the TikTok was playing. And then I was so embarrassed, and I was like, wanted to cry because I was just so embarrassed. ((Omar Roberts, 6th Grader)) The funniest thing was when my brother, Sami, he was running around, he was like this. And then he slipped on his sock and then, heÕs like that. And then, I was just laughing so hard. And then, itÕs like, ((Claire Nitowski, 6th Grader)) if it was on recording, ((Omar Roberts, 6th Grader)) it was on recording, yeah. ((NATS/MUSIC)) CLOSING BUMPER ((ANIM)) voanews.com/connect NEXT WEEK / GOOD BYE ((VO/NAT)) ((Banner)) In Coming WeeksÉ.. Urban Wildlife ((SOT)) ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Cheryl Chooljian, Clinic Director, City Wildlife)) IÕve always been interested in helping animals since I was very young. ((NATS)) ((Cheryl Chooljian, Clinic Director, City Wildlife)) Yeah, itÕs bad. IÕm sorry little buddy. Being a wildlife veterinarian in particular allows me to help conservation efforts and preserving natural wildlife that we have here in the District. ((NATS/MUSIC)) ((Cheryl Chooljian, Clinic Director, City Wildlife)) We currently have 96 patients. Unfortunately, most of our problems that we see are directly human-related. We do see a lot of trauma cases, hit by cars, birds that have flown into windows, attacks by domestic animals, cats, dogs. CLOSING BUMPER ((ANIM)) voanews.com/connect ((PKG)) FREE PRESS MATTERS ((NATS/VIDEO/GFX)) ((Popup captions over B Roll)) Near the Turkish Embassy Washington, D.C. May 16, 2017 President ErdoganÕs bodyguard attacks peaceful protesters ŅThose terrorists deserved to be beatenÓ ŅThey should not be protesting our presidentÓ ŅThey got what they asked forÓ While some people may turn away from the news We cover it reliably accurately objectively comprehensively wherever the news matters VOA A Free Press Matters BREAK THREE BUMP IN ((ANIM)) SHOW ENDS