BY ROVARRO SANDERS, SOPHOMORE, KIPP NASHVILLE COLLEGIATE HIGH SCHOOL
As online school first started, I honestly didn’t have a negative opinion on it. I mean, you’re staying home, watching a computer, constantly comfortable, and you can do whatever you want; sounds like a dream for me. I was focused on making good grades, maintaining a social life, and then imagining all the things I could do in my free time. I just couldn’t wait to play Xbox, facetime my friends, eat whatever I wanted, and be happy since I didn’t have to stress about being at school and waking up early.
Then my perspective changed…
Let me just say this: virtual school is nowhere near the same as going to school. Don’t get me wrong, when we’re in school, we do feel somewhat stressed out to submit before deadlines, be our best, and feel accepted. But the positive side is that we feel better knowing we have our friends and staff to talk to and count on when we don’t feel the best about our situations. We have everything we need in the same building as us, and we feel appreciated. With virtual school, the only positive thing I can see is that we can’t contract and transmit COVID-19.
During virtual school, keeping up your grades and doing well in school is harder than it’s ever been. As a student, I can say that I constantly worry about messing up and ruining my reputation. And I have more to worry about than just academics. Speaking from the perspective of myself and some of my friends, I can say that when we’re home during the school day, we have other things to do besides school, like babysit younger siblings, cook, clean, and chores. We strive to be the best we can be and work as hard as we can in school until we literally have zero energy to provide for everything else. Most of us have classes starting from the morning, until the afternoon, along with short 15-minute breaks and a lunch break. Sometimes it feels like when we should be resting, we’re then just dealing with our lives at home.
The other major effect of online school happens mentally. I think a lot of students would agree with me that school is one of the most stressful things we have to deal with on a daily basis. Over the past few months, I’ve seen many students have a common feeling of sudden depression or anxiety that they don’t feel motivated to get rid of or feel as if it’s just impossible to face. Many students have gotten to the point where they are completely fed up with school and getting tired of feeling bad about their performance. It’s frustrating to work hard for hours a day and then sometimes end the day without seeing certain results or feeling like you still don’t understand the material. It honestly makes you feel empty.
I think it’s important for people to understand, too, that some students don’t wake up to a calm and quiet environment that’s conducive to learning. There might be food insecurity and unstable internet access. There might be siblings at home also doing virtual school and you have to help them with their homework and logging on.
I would say what’s been the most challenging is that going to school online is so much harder than when it’s in person. Our teachers are working so hard to recreate the environment we had before, and us students truly appreciate it. I don’t know where we’d be without our teachers. Having a teacher right in front of you giving lectures and notes, or helping face-to-face so you can grasp the picture is something I realized I had really taken for granted. In fact, students don’t perform the same online and it’s been proven! According to Inside Higher ED, “Students in online education, particularly underprepared and disadvantaged students, underperform and on average experience poor outcomes.”
Now imagine if school was back in person. Students would have a quiet, safe and calm place to go, reliable meals twice a day, and people to support them. Students wouldn’t have to worry about not getting food, or lacking motivation because they’re home alone or not feeling safe. Some students look forward to going to school. I, along with many students, am looking forward to a time when we can safely get back into school, because all students deserve to be able to learn to the best of their abilities.
Rovarro Sanders is a Sophomore at Kipp Nashville Collegiate High School. He loves his family and loves committing himself to achieving success. He is involved in the Student Council and takes high pride in his role as a leader.
