Girls Write Teen Takeover

A day in the life of a teen living through a pandemic

BY MARY WATSON

A lot of people have been talking about online school and how it affects the administration and teachers, but they rarely ask how we feel as students. The only time they ask for our feedback is when they give us some random survey to fill out. The surveys never ask specific questions about the issues that affect us.

So, to give people a specific idea of what it’s like to be a high school student trying to have a normal school experience in the middle of a pandemic I’ll tell you about my daily school life and how I honestly feel about remote learning and online school and not having a face to face up learning and personal social life. Mondays are the hardest. First of all, they are hard because it’s the first day of school after the weekend. Although my weekends look very different now because of the stay at home order and places I like to go being closed, they still are the weekend and I use them to sleep from school, socialize with my friends online, attend an occasional socially distanced event and do homework. But Monday is also hard because of my school schedule. I have to go on zoom till 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. but I do get a break from zoom at 10:55 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. during my break I’m doing class work, notes, studying or sometimes taking a short nap. Also, the zooms may last longer if the teacher has to explain the work for students and answer questions.

The rest of the week is easier because I only have two Zooms to go each day. But I have to do all my class work for each class and turn in by that day. A lot of the time I’m busy at home to get it done throughout the week.

Before the pandemic I always wanted to be homeschooled, but I pictured it differently than it is now. I imagined going to the library or Starbucks and other places to study. Not doing everything from home. The remote learning and online school I am doing now is a challenge. I honestly feel stressed and tired from school. Me and my friends have discussed how school is stressing us out.

Much of the time I’m more worried about completing my assignments and turning my work in on time, than actually sitting down and learning my subjects. I also don’t like that one of my teachers makes it were if we turn something in late points get taken off. I get that the teacher wants us to turn in the work but doing things like this will only make students stress about due dates. Like I said before students are more worried about turning in work on time than learning the material.

Another thing about remote learning that is especially difficult for some students is having to deal with their personal mental health issues on their own and from home. It is particularly difficult for students who don’t live in a good home environment. Staying at home all the time complicates matters and makes it especially hard for students who suffer from food insecurity, a lack of internet service and in worst cases emotional and or physical deprivation and abuse.

I don’t want to sound like there is no hope or solution for these problems. What I would like to see is a task force or committee made up of students research the pros and cons of remote learning and have them make a presentation the next time adults meet to decide what is the best plan of action regarding remote learning student population.

Mary Watson is a high school student in Nashville.