Math teacher helps student with homework while social distancing on front porch
South Dakota sixth-grader Rylee Anderson was struggling with her math assignment and emailed her teacher for a little help, as her school is canceled due to the coronavirus crisis. Soon after, her teacher arrived on the front porch — with a white board and marker in hand.
Rylee's dad Josh Anderson posted the sweet moment on Twitter, alongside a photo of teacher Chris Waba demonstrating the problems on a large white board. The 12-year-old watched through the glass front door as Waba, who Anderson said is the family's neighbor, squats outside — to follow social distancing guidelines.
"She was very frustrated, so after he helped her she was extremely grateful to get things figured out," Josh told CBS News. "I've know [sic] Chris for a long time and although I didn't expect it, I was also not shocked that he would be happy to do something like that."
The sweet moment went viral on Twitter, much to Anderson's surprise.
My 6th grader emailed her math teacher for some help, so he came over & worked through the problem with her on our front porch. @Chriswaba9 , our neighbor, MMS teacher & MHS Wrestling Coach. #KidsFirst @MadisonMSNews @MarkOsports @dakotasportsnow @dakotanews_now @stwalter20 pic.twitter.com/aniqt2goPB
— Josh Anderson (@DakSt8Football) March 27, 2020
"It was just a cool picture and a neat story about a great man helping my daughter," tweeted Anderson, who is the head football coach at Dakota State University, on Monday. "The attention and exposer [sic] sure has exceeded my expectations!!"
Rylee's school district has been temporarily closed since the middle of March and will remain so through at least May 1, according to the district's website. Schools and colleges across the country have canceled classes, graduations and even told students to leave residence halls in an attempt to halt the spread of the coronavirus.
The U.S. is now the global epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic, with more than 203,000 confirmed cases reported and at least 4,300 deaths, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. However, the government warned the worst of the crisis is still to come — President Trump recently told the country to brace for "a very bad" two or three weeks.