By: Shruti Jha
It seems like ages ago when we were just about to enter March break and were suddenly hit with quarantine and self-isolation. The global pandemic took over everyone’s lives. It is still taking over our lives. Days bleed into each other, isolation feels suffocating, and it seems like everywhere you turn there’s a new issue to be addressed. Considering the times we are currently living in, one would think that academic responsibilities would be the last of a student’s concern. Nonetheless, schools are opening up again. With new models of learning being put into place, students are now thrown in for a new learning curve that has detrimental consequences not just to their academic well-being but also their mental health.
Stress levels are now reaching an all-time high as students scramble to find some type of order and regularity in their lives. Teachers are expecting students to be automatically comfortable with online learning. Universities and colleges refuse to decrease tuition prices even though the quality of education is adequate at best. What shocks me is that only yesterday, we were stuck in a mind-numbing 6-month “vacation”. All of a sudden, we are supposed to be the same students we were before quarantine and pretend as if virtual learning isn’t going to be a completely new experience that comes with far more drawbacks than benefits.
University students are trying to transition into virtual classes while still paying the same amount of tuition they would for a regular year (some paying even more), for an education that is not the same as it would have been before the pandemic. How will students be able to cope with virtual learning when only months ago students could not keep up with remote learning due to the anxiety towards the Coronavirus? Zoom or Canvas classes cannot replicate or even amount to in-person learning. Students are now stuck spreading themselves out thin trying to learn the material all while trying to keep up with coursework. They are spending hours upon hours in front of a screen which only adds to the toll. Yet, society is concerned with one question: “What other choice do they have?”
While we focus on the mental well-being of students who are trying to transition to virtual learning, we often forget that the opening of schools directly and negatively impacts students from low-income families. It is no surprise that socioeconomic status predicts your success in school. Canadian experts are constantly repeating the message that children with disabilities, those in minority or disadvantaged communities, or living in remote areas are the ones that are at the highest risk of falling behind. Students are out there risking themselves and their family’s safety to be able to pay their tuition on time. High school students are entering their upper-class years with the expectations to succeed and do well; all while trying to find a university that would offer them a scholarship. They are struggling to find resources that help with their transition to a new model of learning. Yet, it seems that schools are lacking resources to provide even basic help to these kids.
Trying to find our footing in this mess of reopening schools is a constant weight on students’ shoulders. I cannot even talk about school without feeling like my head is about to burst. As much as the different stages of quarantine have allowed people to find fragments of normal life, it is still very scary out there and schools need to do a better job of being there for their students. Otherwise, my fellow students and I would like to get off of this ride, please.