Accommodating to Students.

A global pandemic, social issues, politics, education. All that has been coursing through the minds of humans for nearly a year. An economic recession, a pandemic, these contributing factors can alter the priority of a student. Why are we expecting so much out of students who are dealing with the same problems as adults but are at the disadvantage of distance learning? So much is expected of students regardless of a pandemic, yet students are expected to maintain the same educational outcome during a global pandemic and an economic recession. Some say that students have the luxury of access to the internet, and that can be beneficial — however, many students without internet or who do not have the luxury of extended internet time. Socially distance learning is very challenging for everyone, but students in particular. It has proven to be more challenging to learn online than in-person. School is no longer a priority for some students, given the craziness happening, and some teachers have been understanding to a certain extent.

Students have been learning via computer/phones for nearly a year, challenging to learn. We all have heard our doctors recommend two hours of screen time, but students can not avoid less than two hours of screen time daily. It has been proven that learning through screens is nowhere nearly effective as learning in-person. Because there is no face-to-face learning, there are malignant physiological effects on students, especially those under four. In an article written by Daniel T. In the Los Angeles Times, the writer argues why learning during the midst of a pandemic is complex; the author writes, “Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and the rest of the Trump administration maintain that because online learning is hard, healthy kids should be in school. But research points to another solution to the video learning problem. The problem is dramatic in children younger than 4. In a typical experiment, a researcher is filmed using a new word or describing the location of a hidden object. A child who sees the experimenter live is more likely to learn than one who watches the video. One explanation for this phenomenon is that videos lack the social cues face-to-face interactions provide.” (Willingham, 2021) Children, especially those under the age of four, are negatively affected by screen learning because of a phenomenon that occurs during screen learning which makes students lack the social cues face-to-face interactions provide. Distance learning has been proven to be more problematic because of screen-learning. Physiologically, it is easier to have face-to-face learning because of social cues picked up by the students.

Teachers are not accommodating to student’s situations during the pandemic. Many students are overwhelmed by the amount of work, mainly because it is harder to learn online. In a current events conversation column in the New York Times, the author, The Learning Network, takes students’ experience during the pandemic and has them illustrate their challenges. One student, Kitty from New Jersey, writes, “Online school has been a stressful process for many of my friends and me. I live in an area where internet access and WiFi are hard to get, and, as a result, I am not only stressed about school, but I am often anxious that I will not be able to join and maintain access to online classes and assignments. Working at home is hard for me as well since there is no distinct separation of school v.s home. Normally at school, I am able to focus as it is a work environment, and I am constantly communicating face-to-face with those around me. At home, I want to get up and go outside and stop staring at my iPad, it gives me headaches, and I am tired of looking at it after 4–5 hours a day. Many of my teachers have been seemingly understanding of the issues caused by online school, but at the same time, they are continuing to give the normal workload.” (Kitty 2020) This student explains some of the difficulties provided by distance learning that they and many other students face during the pandemic; one of the difficulties is the teachers’ workload. It has been a challenging year for all of us, but students are especially struggling with the workload of face-to-face learning during a time where that is not an option.

Education has been a top priority for decades, but now other factors seem more pressing than education. In an article written by educator Amanda Morin in the Child Mind Institute, the author highlights why students are not engaged in distance learning. The author writes, “In the midst of a pandemic, economic recession, and social unrest, your students’ lives may have changed drastically since the day your school shut down. Many families are grappling with financial worries, illness, loss, homelessness, and/or food insecurity. Or they may be vulnerable in other ways. Students may no longer have an internet connection, a device to use, or a space to learn in. Some students may not be available to meet at specific times. Others may have a lot going on in the background that they’re trying to block out or even hide from the rest of the class. In the classroom, when you work with your students in person every day, you can get a sense of who may be going through something difficult at home. You can privately check in to see how things are going. During distance learning, it’s harder to have those one-on-one conversations, especially with students who aren’t engaged.” (Morin, 2020) There are so many different reasons not to list education as a number one priority; financial issues, social issues, internet, family, food. School may not seem like a priority, especially when it is challenging to learn because of distance learning. However, there are those, especially those who have not been in school for decades, who claim that the pandemic is making it earlier for students, and that is why it should be a priority. School is important and making the most out of your education is wise. However, this claim is not supported through facts. It has been proven to be more challenging to learn through distance learning; whether because of screen time, priority, or workload, students are faced with the challenges provided by distance learning. Students are already having a more challenging time with distance learning, and there are other factors present in student’s lives that they can not escape. So yes, while school is vital, other factors lay in front of students that make school make it not seem like a necessity.

To sum up, everything that has been stated so far, distance learning has been more challenging for students more than others can sympathize for. There are many factors for this: it is scientifically proven to be more challenging to learn through computers, has no longer become a priority for some students, and students are struggling to try to keep up with their workload and their personal life. Some argue that school is more spartan now because everything is online, that students should have no problem with online school. However, the school has been more challenging for students since the beginning of the pandemic than before. With everything going on, socially, economically, people must be more sympathetic towards students experiencing a challenging time learning during the pandemic. With everything going on, people need to understand that students can not learn the same way.