Item
Alejandra Diaz Oral History, 2021/03/30
Media
Title (Dublin Core)
Alejandra Diaz Oral History, 2021/03/30
Pandemic Lifestyle & Childhood Education, Oral History with Alejandra Diaz, 03/30/2021
Description (Dublin Core)
Alejandra Diaz lives in Tracy, California with her two children. Throughout the interview, social interaction was brought up frequently. It is a major factor that the COVID-19 pandemic had negatively impacted for herself and her children. As family is an important topic, Alejandra shares how their lifestyle used to be compared to how it was presently. Socialization is prevalent in her common interactions with family, friends, and in her children’s academic lives. As the questions shifts from lifestyle to academics, Alejandra talks about how her children’s education has been like during the pandemic, and about schools reopening in California. Alejandra has good things to say about the teachers as they would help where they could. Even before her children returned, she expresses her support towards in-person schools starting back up. She feels that this is necessary, under the right safety measures, for her children to learn and develop as it can prove difficult in isolation.
Recording Date (Dublin Core)
03/30/2021
Creator (Dublin Core)
Fitria Hardono
Alejandra Diaz
Contributor (Dublin Core)
Fitria Hardono
Event Identifier (Dublin Core)
HST494
Partner (Dublin Core)
Arizona State University
Controlled Vocabulary (Dublin Core)
English
Education--K12
English
Emotion
English
Online Learning
English
Social Distance
English
Home & Family Life
Curator's Tags (Omeka Classic)
safety
school
children
parenthood
socialize
California
online learning
in person
education
Contributor's Tags (a true folksonomy) (Friend of a Friend)
Lifestyle
Family
Parenthood
Children
Safety
Education
California
Collection (Dublin Core)
Children
K-12
Latino(a/x) Voices
Motherhood
Date Submitted (Dublin Core)
03/30/2021
Date Modified (Dublin Core)
04/16/2021
04/17/2021
04/25/2021
05/07/2021
04/18/2022
05/07/2022
05/24/2022
08/25/2023
Interviewer (Bibliographic Ontology)
Fitria Hardono
Interviewee (Bibliographic Ontology)
Alejandra Diaz
Location (Omeka Classic)
Tracy
California
United States of America
Format (Dublin Core)
Audio
Language (Dublin Core)
English
Duration (Omeka Classic)
00:08:39
abstract (Bibliographic Ontology)
Alejandra Diaz lives in Tracy, California with her two children. Throughout the interview, social interaction was brought up frequently. It is a major factor that the COVID-19 pandemic had negatively impacted for herself and her children. As family is an important topic, Alejandra shares how their lifestyle used to be compared to how it was presently. Socialization is prevalent in her common interactions with family, friends, and in her children’s academic lives. As the questions shifts from lifestyle to academics, Alejandra talks about how her children’s education has been like during the pandemic, and about schools reopening in California. Alejandra has good things to say about the teachers as they would help where they could. Even before her children returned, she expresses her support towards in-person schools starting back up. She feels that this is necessary, under the right safety measures, for her children to learn and develop as it can prove difficult in isolation.
Transcription (Omeka Classic)
Fitria Hardono 0:01
Okay. Hello. Good afternoon. My name is Fitria Hardono, and I’m an undergraduate student at ASU [Arizona State University], enrolled in History [HST] 494. The date is March 30th, 2021. The time is 3:02PM Arizona Time, and I’m speaking with Alejandra Diaz. Did I pronounce that correctly?
Alejandra Diaz 0:32
Yes—That’s—Yes.
Fitria Hardono 0:37
Okay. Thank you for meeting me virtually today. Before we get to the questions, I want to let you know that if at any point during the interview you feel uncomfortable, please be assured that it is perfectly okay not to answer. Furthermore, if you need some time to recollect your thoughts or take a break, we can schedule another time to continue.
Alejandra Diaz 1:03
Okay.
Fitria Hardono 1:05
To start things off, I would like to ask you about how the pandemic affected your lifestyle. So, if you don’t mind me asking, what socio-economic class would you place yourself in?
Alejandra Diaz 1:21
About middle-class.
Fitria Hardono 1:25
Middle-class. So, how would you describe your family’s lifestyle now compared to before the pandemic?
Alejandra Diaz 1:36
We don’t gather as a family anymore. I haven’t seen my cousins in over a year now. Luckily, I live next to my parents, so I get to see them every day. But if we hadn’t, then I wouldn’t be seeing them either, just—for their safety. My kids don’t hang out with their friends anymore on playdates, and they just started going back to in-person school last week.
Fitria Hardono 2:08
Would you say that that’s—like meeting with your family is one of the most difficult challenges during the pandemic?
Alejandra Diaz 2:18
Oh, definitely. I grew up very close to all of my cousins, seeing them regularly, so not seeing them for holidays or just on a random weekend is pretty tough.
Fitria Hardono 2:31
I see. So, yeah, feeling pretty isolated is a common issue during quarantine. We can understand what’s going on and why we should keep our distance from others. However, considering the age of your children now, do you think they understand it as well?
Alejandra Diaz 2:53
I think so. I talked to them early in the pandemic about why we couldn’t see their friends or go to school, and they seemed to understand pretty well.
Fitria Hardono 3:02
Okay, that’s cool. What are some concerns you have regarding the pandemic’s effects on your children?
Alejandra Diaz 3:13
Their social abilities. They do have cousins nearby, so I’m not too worried about them feeling alone all the time, but schoolwork and their confidence—I have noticed that a little bit more in my daughter—she’s the older one, so…
Fitria Hardono 3:39
I see. So, yeah, as we speak more about children during the pandemic, childcare and education are major concerns. What do you see or anticipate as being the most challenging part of your children’s education plan?
Alejandra Diaz 3:58
Keeping them on track was definitely the hardest. Being their resource when they’re in school since they don’t have the teacher physically in front of them to ask questions, and for her to see them if they’re falling behind. I had to be the one doing that on top of my regular at-home duties, at-work duties. That was the hardest.
Fitria Hardono 4:28
What do you think needs improvement? Resources, perhaps, to help you.
Alejandra Diaz 4:38
The teachers at our school have been pretty good about being available and reaching out when they’ve seen that we needed help. But it has had a learning curve, definitely, the beginning—the at-home orders were a lot more difficult compared to now.
Fitria Hardono 5:00
So then, with the teachers, what are your thoughts on the heavy reliance on technology for their education now?
Alejandra Diaz 5:13
I think it’s great that they’ve been able to utilize and keep our kids learning and interactive. It is a struggle to have two kids on at the same time and making sure that everything is functioning properly. Like I said, there was a learning curve—a big learning curve—in the very beginning, but now we’re—we’re pretty used to it now.
Fitria Hardono 5:36
Would you consider this, like at your—at this point in your children’s life—to be like a pro or a con?
Alejandra Diaz 5:49
I don’t think it’s a con. It’s just another way for them to learn. I guess it’s kind of a good thing—you could kind of think of it as new avenues for them, but it does kind of suck that they don’t have—they don’t get to have that interaction in person.
Fitria Hardono 6:14
Okay. Could you please describe how your children would normally study?
Alejandra Diaz 6:21
Well, they’ll do—they usually do all their learning at school, come home and do a couple pages of homework, a couple minutes of reading, and that’s usually about it. And then, you know, the random projects when they have to do one.
Fitria Hardono 6:38
From here, we’re seeing—as you mentioned—they were going back to school again. So, what are your thoughts on this? Like, just overall situation.
Alejandra Diaz 6:55
I think it’s great. I think they need that social interaction to learn from their peers. And to really learn in-person is completely difficult when you’re a child. You need that hands-on interaction, and you need that encouragement from your teachers, so I think it’s very—I’ve always been very open to them going back to school as long as there were safety measures in place. And they seem to be loving it.
Fitria Hardono 7:24
Are there any resources/conditions that you would suggest needs improvement?
Alejandra Diaz 7:35
I think that should be a [unintelligible]—Just do like a slow rollout, but I think the kids need to be going to school more. Any more hands-on is good for them.
Fitria Hardono 7:54
Sounds good. So lastly, is there anything I didn’t ask about that you’d like to talk about?
Alejandra Diaz 8:08
No, I don’t think so.
Fitria Hardono 8:12
That should be it. [laughs]
Alejandra Diaz 8:16
Awesome.
Fitria Hardono 8:17
That went faster than I expected. [laughs]
Alejandra Diaz 8:19
[laughs]
Fitria Hardono 8:23
Thank you very much for your time today. That was really great—insightful.
Alejandra Diaz 8:26
Oh, no problem. Anytime, reach out.
Fitria Hardono 8:31
Okay. Have a wonderful afternoon/rest of the evening.
Alejandra Diaz 8:36
Thank you, you too.
Okay. Hello. Good afternoon. My name is Fitria Hardono, and I’m an undergraduate student at ASU [Arizona State University], enrolled in History [HST] 494. The date is March 30th, 2021. The time is 3:02PM Arizona Time, and I’m speaking with Alejandra Diaz. Did I pronounce that correctly?
Alejandra Diaz 0:32
Yes—That’s—Yes.
Fitria Hardono 0:37
Okay. Thank you for meeting me virtually today. Before we get to the questions, I want to let you know that if at any point during the interview you feel uncomfortable, please be assured that it is perfectly okay not to answer. Furthermore, if you need some time to recollect your thoughts or take a break, we can schedule another time to continue.
Alejandra Diaz 1:03
Okay.
Fitria Hardono 1:05
To start things off, I would like to ask you about how the pandemic affected your lifestyle. So, if you don’t mind me asking, what socio-economic class would you place yourself in?
Alejandra Diaz 1:21
About middle-class.
Fitria Hardono 1:25
Middle-class. So, how would you describe your family’s lifestyle now compared to before the pandemic?
Alejandra Diaz 1:36
We don’t gather as a family anymore. I haven’t seen my cousins in over a year now. Luckily, I live next to my parents, so I get to see them every day. But if we hadn’t, then I wouldn’t be seeing them either, just—for their safety. My kids don’t hang out with their friends anymore on playdates, and they just started going back to in-person school last week.
Fitria Hardono 2:08
Would you say that that’s—like meeting with your family is one of the most difficult challenges during the pandemic?
Alejandra Diaz 2:18
Oh, definitely. I grew up very close to all of my cousins, seeing them regularly, so not seeing them for holidays or just on a random weekend is pretty tough.
Fitria Hardono 2:31
I see. So, yeah, feeling pretty isolated is a common issue during quarantine. We can understand what’s going on and why we should keep our distance from others. However, considering the age of your children now, do you think they understand it as well?
Alejandra Diaz 2:53
I think so. I talked to them early in the pandemic about why we couldn’t see their friends or go to school, and they seemed to understand pretty well.
Fitria Hardono 3:02
Okay, that’s cool. What are some concerns you have regarding the pandemic’s effects on your children?
Alejandra Diaz 3:13
Their social abilities. They do have cousins nearby, so I’m not too worried about them feeling alone all the time, but schoolwork and their confidence—I have noticed that a little bit more in my daughter—she’s the older one, so…
Fitria Hardono 3:39
I see. So, yeah, as we speak more about children during the pandemic, childcare and education are major concerns. What do you see or anticipate as being the most challenging part of your children’s education plan?
Alejandra Diaz 3:58
Keeping them on track was definitely the hardest. Being their resource when they’re in school since they don’t have the teacher physically in front of them to ask questions, and for her to see them if they’re falling behind. I had to be the one doing that on top of my regular at-home duties, at-work duties. That was the hardest.
Fitria Hardono 4:28
What do you think needs improvement? Resources, perhaps, to help you.
Alejandra Diaz 4:38
The teachers at our school have been pretty good about being available and reaching out when they’ve seen that we needed help. But it has had a learning curve, definitely, the beginning—the at-home orders were a lot more difficult compared to now.
Fitria Hardono 5:00
So then, with the teachers, what are your thoughts on the heavy reliance on technology for their education now?
Alejandra Diaz 5:13
I think it’s great that they’ve been able to utilize and keep our kids learning and interactive. It is a struggle to have two kids on at the same time and making sure that everything is functioning properly. Like I said, there was a learning curve—a big learning curve—in the very beginning, but now we’re—we’re pretty used to it now.
Fitria Hardono 5:36
Would you consider this, like at your—at this point in your children’s life—to be like a pro or a con?
Alejandra Diaz 5:49
I don’t think it’s a con. It’s just another way for them to learn. I guess it’s kind of a good thing—you could kind of think of it as new avenues for them, but it does kind of suck that they don’t have—they don’t get to have that interaction in person.
Fitria Hardono 6:14
Okay. Could you please describe how your children would normally study?
Alejandra Diaz 6:21
Well, they’ll do—they usually do all their learning at school, come home and do a couple pages of homework, a couple minutes of reading, and that’s usually about it. And then, you know, the random projects when they have to do one.
Fitria Hardono 6:38
From here, we’re seeing—as you mentioned—they were going back to school again. So, what are your thoughts on this? Like, just overall situation.
Alejandra Diaz 6:55
I think it’s great. I think they need that social interaction to learn from their peers. And to really learn in-person is completely difficult when you’re a child. You need that hands-on interaction, and you need that encouragement from your teachers, so I think it’s very—I’ve always been very open to them going back to school as long as there were safety measures in place. And they seem to be loving it.
Fitria Hardono 7:24
Are there any resources/conditions that you would suggest needs improvement?
Alejandra Diaz 7:35
I think that should be a [unintelligible]—Just do like a slow rollout, but I think the kids need to be going to school more. Any more hands-on is good for them.
Fitria Hardono 7:54
Sounds good. So lastly, is there anything I didn’t ask about that you’d like to talk about?
Alejandra Diaz 8:08
No, I don’t think so.
Fitria Hardono 8:12
That should be it. [laughs]
Alejandra Diaz 8:16
Awesome.
Fitria Hardono 8:17
That went faster than I expected. [laughs]
Alejandra Diaz 8:19
[laughs]
Fitria Hardono 8:23
Thank you very much for your time today. That was really great—insightful.
Alejandra Diaz 8:26
Oh, no problem. Anytime, reach out.
Fitria Hardono 8:31
Okay. Have a wonderful afternoon/rest of the evening.
Alejandra Diaz 8:36
Thank you, you too.
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