OPINION: How schooling during the pandemic impacted a generation of students

Over the past two years there have been a lot of mixed views about the reopening of schools. Both in school and at home work have their positives but they also have their negatives.

Learning in school is much more interactive but is it safe for the students and staff? We are more exposed to contracting Covid in schools. Many students and staff are anxious about leaving their home. Masks are worn under the noses causing others to feel more unsafe. The one way system rule is frequently broken and social distancing is often not followed.

We noticed that when we returned to school, rumours were often spread about which families had Covid and if they were isolating or not. There was also a lot of talk about who had the vaccine and who didn't have the vaccine.

Base rooms were assigned to each class to limit contact. These were classrooms that students had to stay in during the morning, lunch and break. This was hard as we couldn't see our friends most of the time, only if we happened to be in the same lesson as them.   

Being in the comfort of your own home created a calmer atmosphere for learning but it came with its difficulties such as a lack of social interactions and mostly independent work to name a few.

We experienced lack of motivation to even join class calls and hand in assignments. There were a lot more distractions at home. We felt as if there was less pressure to complete assignments as teachers felt sympathy for students. There was also a sense of isolation being at home for a long period of time but spending time with family brought us closer together. 

Missing out on the social aspect of school had a big impact on us. Catching up with friends that we hadn't been in contact with encouraged us to want to go back to school.  We felt our mental health improved seeing different people that were outside our bubble. There is also a great amount of resources and support  available in the school that were harder to access from home. 

When we went back to school, the length of classes had changed from forty minutes to an hour. This turned out to be a positive thing because we had a full hour of learning to catch up on all that we had missed. 

Fresh air breaks were also introduced, each year had a different set time for these breaks to avoid mingling with other classes. Being taught in a physical classroom made the lesson easier to understand.

Getting up at a set time everyday gave us a routine in our daily lives which we found contributed to healthy eating, physical activity and sleep.

Of course learning at home had its positives, being able to do work at your own pace was one of them. Flexible hours and not having as much pressure on ourselves were a great advantage to online learning. Not having to commute to and from school everyday was convenient for our parents. During online learning we felt that we gained skills such as self discipline. 

For people who struggle with social anxiety, online learning was a great break from the intimidating classrooms. We found that online learning made us want to do more exercise to take a break after sitting at a desk all day. In our experience we got in the habit of doing regular exercise and it felt rewarding. We had more time to prepare food and meal plans instead of buying ready made food from school. 

The coronavirus pandemic has given us an insight on independent working. It has enabled students to have a first hand experience of the advantages and disadvantages of working from home. 

Both online and in school learning had its ups and downs. Overtime, we built a sense of self-worth as we went through the challenges of the  pandemic, making us feel more confident and stronger.