Covid-19 impact on students

With over half a million Covid-19 cases in Virginia, the pandemic has made a huge impact on how we go through our daily lives. Schools and colleges have been operating online for nearly a whole year. This has had various effects on the lives of students and their well-being. 

Students’ learning has been severely impacted with the pandemic and transition to online learning. There was a survey done by activeminds.org that stated 8 in 10 students are having struggles focusing during online school. Kendyll Bache, a junior at Lafayette High school, said “I think we are overwhelmed with the amount of schoolwork we have. Because now we have 8 classes instead of four and some teachers don’t seem to grasp that concept and still assign a ton of work.” Some students also think they are given more work than they can handle during this pandemic. In the survey, it also stated that 74% of students are being challenged into maintaining a routine due to Covid-19.

Bache was asked about how long it took for her to get used to this unprecedented school year and she said that it took her the whole first semester to get used to it because of all the classes she had to be in all at once. This school year has been tough for her with some of her grades dramatically dropping just because she’s learning it online which is not something she is accustomed to. But she is not alone in this since many students’ grades have also been impacted negatively during this pandemic.

 Many students believe that online school has not affected their mental health badly, but students do think that getting assignments turned in on time and paying attention in your zoom class can be difficult. Students are given a lot of assignments for each class and struggle to turn the assignments in on time. Virtual learning makes it difficult for students to be able to understand what they are learning because it’s not in person classes and many students might be afraid to ask questions. Online classes have affected student’s physical health because they spend hours in front of the computer, and they are unable to get the exercise they used to get walking to each

classroom. Students are also unable to get the exercise they need because we all are in quarantine at home.  Many students also lack sleep because they spend most of their day catching up on school assignments in front of a computer. Bache observed, “Most of the time I stay up late every night to turn in my work, so my sleep schedule is very bad.”

 Many college students have been affected tremendously by Covid-19. This virus has affected classes, fraternities, sororities, sports, mental health, physical health, parties, dating, and social lives. College is supposed to be a time where you become your own person and a time where you can try and find out what you are going to contribute to the world but instead college is now a place where students are trapped in their dorms and apartments doing schoolwork all day with barely any contact with the other people. The lack of face-to-face contact has been a huge factor in the difficulty of online learning.

Freshman and sophomores are most likely still trying to find their way in the world. They are not sure of what they are interested in and hands on face-to-face experiences would help narrow down the interests of undecided students. Luckily for Olivia Nice, a JMU senior, she already knows what profession she is interested in. She is becoming a teacher. Although she already has picked her desired career, that doesn’t mean that she has it any easier. Nice was granted the opportunity to go to Ireland last year to learn about teaching and have an incredible opportunity to be able to be in a classroom in a beautiful country. Due to the corona virus outbreak, she was denied the access to go. Last year, around this time, she had practicum, a practical section of a course of study. Nice had to go into the classroom and teach. She stated that “the kids were distracted by the masks and the misuse of the masks would unfortunately interrupt the class from instruction.” But she had more luck last year than this year. This year she has had less face-to-face work with the children and is missing out on experiences and opportunities due to the virus.

Olivia Nice, just like many other students are losing opportunity to socialize, date, travel, learn and party. Although this time has been difficult, many college students have found ways to look on the bright side. They can get ahead on their work and complete it in a timely manner, they can become closer with their roommates and friends, and they can learn new things and gain more at home experiences. Although college students are missing out on opportunities and experiences many of them are looking forward. But this time has shown everyone, not only college students, just how important the little things are and has given us the ability to appreciate things more deeply than we used to. 

As students in WJCC schools gradually go back to in person learning, there are definitely some major adjustments to be made to accommodate everyone. So far the WJCC timeline has not had anymore changes or delays since early December when Covid cases spiked. As for college students, each college in Virginia has set up different timelines and plans regarding their students’ safe return to campus grounds.