Burnett family dining room serves up distance learning for 7
James and Gwyn Burnett bring love and academic rigor to distance learning in their dining room. Photos by David Pierini
By David Pierini Staff Reporter
As dining room furniture goes, a lectern might seem out of place.
But Gwyn and James Burnett know exactly how to set a room for overseeing the education of their seven children at home during the coronavirus outbreak.
Their makeshift one-room school in the Folwell neighborhood is in many ways no different than the typical classroom. There are desks and science and grammar posters. A list of rules is tacked to the wall: “Raise your hand, remain in your seat, help others succeed. Love Mom (auntie) and Dad (uncle).”
“They understand they’re at home, but they’re still in school,” Gwyn said. She’s familiar with at-home intruction—she typically keeps her children on a curriculum at home over the summer. “I tell them ‘none of you can fall behind.’ This is their full-time job. It doesn’t stop.”
Minnesota Schools were ordered closed March 18, forcing educators and parents alike to figure out distance learning strategies to keep educations on track. Today, Governor Tim Walz announced that schools will remain closed through the end of the year.
There is no playbook for families coping with the sudden, jarring shift of having their children home full time and needing to keep them engaged in their distance learning classwork.
Teacher and pupil connect before science lessons begin.
The Burnetts are both Minneapolis Public School district educators. Gwyn teaches language arts at Justice Page Middle School. James works with the district’s school success program and is on track to becoming a principal.
Their jobs make them uniquely prepared. But it has been far from simple.
Six months ago, the Burnetts took in four of their nieces and nephews to foster. They at times respond to the structure with frustration, anger and an impulse to give up on challenging lessons. Gwyn and James are helping them catch-up to their grade levels at the same time they are trying to keep their daughter and two sons on track.
The seven kids represent five different grade levels, including pre-K. Gwyn teaches an additional three grades online, to her language arts students at Justice Page Middle School and her college students at Metropolitan State University.
As unflappable as they seem, teaching seven at home has taken a toll.
“It’s stressful the majority of the time,” Gwyn said. “Kids don’t necessarily read instructions, they give up easily, they have attitude. I try to get away, listen to my audio Bible, meditate and pray. There are times I go to my room and lock the door. The kids are knocking, and they don’t understand I need a moment. You don’t ever get a moment here.”
James will take walks to regain his equilibrium.
“I think as a principal I will have a better understanding of what the teachers are going through,” said James, who defends his principal portfolio this Saturday and is already interviewing for principal jobs.
Gwyn and James work together as if they were cut from the same bolt of strong fabric. They move seamlessly from child to child, challenging their work and insisting they bring detail and explanation to their answers. When one has to conference in for work, the other runs the dining room school.
The Burnetts are disciplined educators who leave no room for sass or slacking, but there is plenty of love in their approach.
King Tashis, 5, hangs on to his father while he checks over his son’s work.
The daily schedule is posted on a wall. School starts at 9am with 15 minutes of reading, followed by hour-long sections of language arts, math, science (a lunch-recess break from 12:15 to 1:15pm), social studies and a final period where teachers and pupils check all work for the day.
The classroom feel is intentional. “We want it to feel that way so that the kids don’t take advantage of the space,” Gwyn said. “If we didn’t have that structure it would be utter chaos.”
The Burnett children attend Emerson Spanish Immersion school and it falls to Tashi, the oldest child, to help her brothers with their Spanish. When Tashi’s eyes are not on her Chromebook screen, she glances over at her brother, James, to check his progress.
“It’s not the same as school, but we’re still doing our school work,” Tashi said. “I like helping the others.”
The couple also keeps school fun for their seven pupils. Recently, James wrote a song about the quarantine life for his kids to perform:
We’re distance learning, baby / We’re self-quarantining, baby / mask on fleek, baby / COVID free, baby.
Gwyn and James trade off when work calls or one needs a break. Gwyn likes to sit on her porch momentarily around 4pm before heading into the evening routine with seven children.
“We get a free hour around 1am,” she said.