Covid -19 has utterly changed the way we go about our lives, with things like masks, quarantines and online working. Though many measures have been lifted now,as we come to what we hope is the near end of the pandemic, online schooling is still happening for students who have covid.
I am one of those students and I’m going to talk about how I have found it and what could be improved upon. Reminder that this is just how I have personally found work and that I understand that it has been difficult for schools, teachers and students to adjust.
First of all, this was overall very different to when everyone was in lockdown. Instead of live lessons, my school have just given us virtual access to slideshows and sheets. This is likely because setting up zoom would be a hassle, likely would’t work and arguably many students at home would not attend. Whilst this new way does work for me personally, I believe that for those who learn best by talking and listening this could be rather unhelpful.
Another thing that has changed is reliability, at a time when numbers of cases are increasing in schools unlike the national overall picture. Many teaches have uploaded work to do and ways to get help if we need it. However some teachers have not even uploaded things to do, this could be because school staff are also being forced to self-isolate in increasing numbers and classes are actually being taught by cover teachers. However, this could cause those who were out of lessons to fall behind in work. This could potentially be detrimental to their learning, especially as required practicals cannot be replicated in a home setting and cannot likely be re-done at a separate time because students who can attend school are still doing them, so the actual activities are not being rescheduled on the whole.
You might be wondering about how attendance and actually completing work is being dealt with. Most schools are expecting students to complete/catch up on all learning they have missed. In my experience I am in Year 10 and I am doing what I can to keep up as it is in my best interest to do so, I also have a sibling that can bring work home for me. Though many pupils won’t do this, some students are still completing all tasks. You might think that as long as work is completed, it would make sense for that child to get normal attendance, because despite them not being in the building, they have still completed assignments. However since September, the guidelines given to schools were altered by the Government and being off school due to covid is being held against students, the same as if you had a cold. Whilst we need to live with the virus we are not yet at a normal stage and they are still providing us with guidelines of when we can return to school so we are legally not allowed to attend school, unlike if you had a cold. Although it will be marked to reflect it is Covid rather than any other illness and we are completing work this has a demoralising effect, especially on students who up this point had excellent attendance.
Finally doing online work is obviously affecting socialisation for pupils. Having to quarantine means having limited contact with friends and not being able to get out and do as many things as you would normally do as a teenager. It has also prevented us from doing extracurricular clubs which are often vital for peoples mental health and just generally in giving students time to relax and exercise. In my case it has meant I cannot do clubs that are required for DoFE, which has set back the completion of tasks. This could have a knock on effect to things like CVs and work experience/college applications.
Overall, isolating because of Covid has been frustrating for many as it completely disrupts your social life as well as education.
By Imogen Dearlove
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