It's Not Just The Virus Killing

It's the schools too.

Two weeks off from school is what they had originally said. An extra week off during our already scheduled break. “I’ll see you in two weeks!” is what many of us said to our teachers and classmates on March 13th, 2020. It’s been nearly a whole year since then.

COVID-19 has caused a nationwide pandemic, causing people to go into the hardest points of their lives. Losing homes, jobs, friends and family to the virus, incredible heartbreak everywhere you could think of. However, not much attention is being paid to the youth in school.

Students are now struggling with the pandemic in more ways than one- more ways than many can handle. Some may be going through outcomes that their parental guardians are going through, who may have to pick up a minimum wage job in order to help their families. Some may have lost a parent or sibling. With all of these exterior factors that have already caused suffering, add an education on top of it.

Due to COVID-19, schools were unable to continue with their everyday process of attending classes five days a week, for at least six hours straight, in multiple classrooms, sharing chairs and desks with multiple people, all in tight spaces. This was not going to happen anytime soon, therefore accommodations were made.

From a viewpoint of a high school in California, the students there are split into three main groups. One group will attend in person Monday and Tuesday while going to classes online Wednesday through Friday, the second group attends Thursday and Friday while going to classes online Monday through Wednesday, the third group attending school strictly online Monday-Friday. They break the two in-person students into another split of breaks and lunches, ensuring that there are less people around each other as much as possible. Students even have the option to opt online if they start to feel “unsafe.” Sounds like a feasible schedule for high school. Yet this same or similar agenda is used in middle schools and elementary schools, causing distress for parents and students alike.

Imagine you’re a sophomore in high school, about to turn sixteen years old, heading to English class with your best friends, your favorite teacher, and all of you sit in the same row of desks. Every high school student dreams of this scenario, but this dream will forever stay a dream. Now there are about four kids in your english class, two you have never even heard speak before, a teacher who has thrown in the towel, and you are not able to get within four desks of someone else. That’s the case for my sister, Sierra. “I got at least twelve hugs a DAY and told jokes, I got to laugh with everyone, just being there made me happy. Now I have no motivation, I feel empty a lot of the time, lost a lot of friends, I feel lonely. Honestly I’m just trying to pass so our parents don’t kill me.”

This feeling does not just reside with my sister, it lurks around a majority of students now. Hybrid (students who attend some days online and some in person) and Online students alike are suffering the lack of social interactment, as well as lack of reward in their work.

High school student Lucas Riegler expresses his withdrawal from classes that he would normally engage in, “I have a lot more trouble focusing in class since I’m not physically in a classroom.” Lucas, a student who struggles with keeping focus, has a tough time being able to stay attentive in class due to the lack of presence in a classroom setting. “My mind ends up wandering and there’s nothing that gets me focused again.”

Many like Lucas are distracted in their virtual classes, not just due to being on a laptop or having their cell phone nearby. They are more often than not in their room with multiple distractions, easily taken away from what a teacher may be saying. Also, the challenge falls upon teachers to be able to engage students that are online instead of in a classroom. The internet may be unlimited, but what a teacher can do for students through a zoom call definitely is not.

Teachers are doing the best that they can in dealing with what they have been handed. Their profession is harder and more appreciated than ever, some are even seen as a blessing for their compassion towards their students at this time. Yet in some cases, it seems as if the teachers forget students are being hit hard too. Even throughout the school year, some have become increasingly less understanding.

“Teachers should ease up on the amount of work they give out since stress levels are already high.” Lucas continues by expressing that “with everything going on right now, no one needs any more stress.” Many teachers compensate for the lack of in-person class time with busy work. Busy work, a popular term used to describe either homework or classwork that is just an activity to fill in gaps. “Nobody cares about the students, it’s about the numbers, the piles of work, and curriculum we need to get done.” Sierra explains that school is no longer to understand, it’s just to complete. Though most students are enrolled in five to seven classes, once that busy work piles on top of already existing homework, it creates a slippery slope of procrastination and missing assignments.

Schools seem to not understand the impact the pandemic is having on these students. They are continuing to assign the same amount of work- possibly even more- to them. There is no incentive to learn anymore, to participate, to really care. Most students are simply just trying to get by. “I’ve become less motivated.” “I sit at a desk for hours just looking at a screen.” “I don’t even feel like I’m really in school.” “I feel like I don’t know any of my teachers.” “There's no incentive to be here.” All quotes from different students, middle school through college. Yet a consistency among all of them: unsatisfied, unmotivated, drained.

“I fear that I’m going to burn out,” first-year college student Karly Crabb tells me. She is not alone in this fear, and for some, the feeling of being burnt out has already hit. With many opting to take time off from school or just completely drop out, those who choose to continue in school are finding it harder and harder to keep that motivation going. “School feels devoid of all satisfaction,” Karly claims. Essentially, she is right. Rewards such as school dances, pep rallys, football games, even just candy being given out for participation in class have all been removed. There is no reward or excitement. The incentive to complete the task is gone.

For high school student Jayden Sessom, COVID-19 has affected her schooling, but her sport is what keeps her going. “I love my sport, and if I lose that too I think I’ll lose any motivation I have left. I’ll have no purpose.” Extra-curricular activities are immensely important to so many student athletes, performers, and artists. Yet not all can still be engaged in such activities due to COVID-19 regulations. These students have lost nearly everything except for homework, testing, and regurgitation of textbooks. Many have begun to feel the stabbing spiral of loss in their purpose.

Suicide rates have drastically increased due to the pandemic. Although many are adults, adolescents are a large portion of the statistics too. They are not just statistics, every single number is a person. Seeing the light fade from all of these people, these students, who are struggling just to get by in school is heartbreaking. When did the letter on a paper become more important than the well being of a child? That’s where we are failing, not in classes, but as people.

I asked a few students about their mental state, and these were some responses I received:

“I don’t want to get up in the morning, it all feels pointless to me now.”

“I’ve picked up a lot of bad habits that I wouldn’t have if things were normal.”

“Everyone feels like a stranger.”

“I never want to leave my house anymore.”

“Awful. No one cares.”

“If I died right now, I’d be okay with it.”

There isn’t enough attention being drawn to the students of the world right now. They are struggling. Students need help more than ever. They need compassion and support. Not just from teachers, but from parents too. Often students may feel unheard, like their feelings are miniscule. A solution as a parent or teacher would be to listen to your student; their feelings are as important and valid as any other individuals. Feeling like someone cares can improve the emotional and mental state of the person. Even feeling supported can encourage motivation in school or in life. This is just one simple, small way anyone can easily help.

Something has to be done about the format of education during this worldwide pandemic. The degenitory manner in which schools are now functioning is hardly benefitting anybody, and the students have ideas. “I think something that would make things easier would be to have all the teachers at one school use one website,” Jayden suggests as a solution to staying organized and turning work in on time. Multiple teachers can result in different sites being used for class. By having all classes kept on one website, stress would decrease while the likelihood of participation would increase. “Uploading their presentations or lectures after class would help a lot with note taking or having to reteach myself something I missed,” first-year college student Gracie Hurst comments. Many students might struggle with keeping up, getting lost, or not being able to retain information. By having these resources to refer back to, this could help students academically and relieve the stress of not being able to retain information as fast as their peers. Sierra, when asked, shrugged and said,“Not a lot can be done for school during a pandemic, as the year goes on there’s better ways to do things, just nobody wants to change them now.”

COVID-19 isn’t going anywhere ANY time soon. Yet these students still deserve an education that will benefit them and their lives, instead of tearing at their well-being.

[Joanna Jones, Jan. 6th, 2021]