PPTC Parents In The Time Of Coronavirus: Jonathan Giles
Jonathan Giles and family, getting ready for dinner.
Jonathan has been a member of PPTC since 2017. When Jonathan started running about four years ago, he had to stop after half a mile on his first run — that was his limit!
Since then, Jonathan has run 40 NYRR races (all over a half-mile long!) Jonathan’s wife calls him Imelda [Marcos] because he has nine pairs of running shoes in his rotation, and another 10 pairs still in boxes.
How many children do you have and what are their ages?
I have two children: Charlotte (14), and Emilie (11).
If you are currently employed, what is your occupation? Are you currently working from home?
I work for the Asset Management arm of a global reinsurer. My team models our exposure to the financial markets that arises from some of the products we reinsure. I’ve been working from home since March 13, when we decided to limit access to our NYC office to necessity only. Fortunately, my firm has adopted an “Own the way you work” policy, which means that we were already set up for working from home.
What has it been like for you and your children since remote learning started?
Their typical day starts at 8:20am and they finish at 2:50pm, with a 30-minute lunch break. As they are older and pretty self-sufficient, the main help we have to give them is support around technology. I’ve learned everything one needs to know about Zoom in the last two weeks!
What has pleasantly surprised you about remote learning and being quarantined with your children?
So far, the remote learning experience has been pretty seamless, except when they have IT issues that inevitably need fixing when I’m in the middle of a meeting. Usually it works out, with a bit of juggling.
“The most surprising thing, though, isn’t related to remote learning. Emilie loves to cook, and has been cooking very often - which is why I need to go out and run to keep the calories off!”
What is your biggest complaint about remote learning?
My biggest complaint about remote learning is that it is even harder to limit their screen time. This is a continual debate, and the fact that they now do all their schoolwork online doesn’t help. It makes it even harder to discern “homework” from game playing!
What is your approach to helping your children with their remote learning?
Our approach to our children’s education has always been quite relaxed, and so far we’ve taken the same approach to their remote learning. It’s all new, though, so depending on how it goes we may need to become more involved.
Do your children understand why we have to be in “lockdown”? Do you do anything special for your children to help them cope?
Yes, both the children understand why we have to be in “lockdown”. They’ve done a lot of discussing in school about COVID-19 and its implications. As one of them put it: “All we ever talk about is the Coronavirus and Zoom!”
Emilie, with one of her homemade desserts.
Have you learned anything about your children that you think will help you with them once they return to class?
I think they’ve learned that they can be more independent from us, which might seem to be a strange thing to say, given how much time we now all spend together. What I mean by this is that they’ve learned to go and do grocery shopping for themselves, to decide what they’d like to eat, find a recipe, and then make it happen.
Have you been running, and do your children run with you?
Yes, still running most days…though I’ve been less concerned about keeping to exact mileage and pace for any of the runs I do. The main change is that I’ve been running less in the park as it always seems to be busy. Most days I’ve been running in Red Hook, either at the track or on the streets around the piers.
We’ve taken Emilie running with us a few times: She’ll run a couple of miles, then bike the rest. This is new. She was due to start track for the first time in school, but that’s now cancelled. I think it was the prospect of new sneakers! Hopefully it’ll continue once the lockdown is over, but she does a lot of gymnastics normally, so we’ll see.
We went to the Red Hook track for the first time yesterday and did a few laps, and then some sprints. Emilie has convinced herself she’s a faster sprinter than I am! Charlotte, on the other hand: Not very interested!
Do you have something else you’d like us to know about your experience with remote learning?
So far we’ve been very lucky, both with remote learning and our general lockdown experience. I’ve actually never eaten as well! The lockdown in general has allowed us to spend more time with the children than we normally do, between school, friends, activities, etc. That’s something we’ve really enjoyed.
Interview and text by: Linda S. Chan
Photos courtesy of: Jonathan Giles
Edited and produced by: Alison Kotch