Written by: Kaiden Ashvini, Aarav Dixit, and Roshan Ramesh
Edited by: Prathyum Barathi and Roshan Ramesh
Research and Pictures by: Kaiden Ashvini, Aarav Dixit, Roshan Ramesh, and Prathyum Barathi
For the past year and a half, students have been rolling out of bed and opening Zoom to go to school. That’s no longer the case. It’s been a long time since we’ve stepped inside a classroom to learn from a teacher who’s actually in the same room as us. Yet, here we are now, attending school on a physical campus, seeing each other mask to mask. There is no doubt that this is a sudden and drastic change for all of us. There are many questions in students' minds right now. How has this affected our daily lives? What is the aftermath of what felt like an era of quarantine? Most importantly, what will a year fresh out of a pandemic look like going forward?
There are three main areas of concern for students as we adapt to getting back to school in person: academics, health, and socialization.
First of all, education is playing a major role in students' lives in the 21st century. While some students got good grades during virtual school, many fell behind. According to Dana Goldstein from the New York Times, these changes in grades are having a significant impact on our education this year. Due to many students not understanding the required material, they have failed to meet grade expectations, with some even losing as much as one year of learning. In addition, some students who finished the 2020-2021 school year with good grades had difficulty fully understanding everything during distance learning, which could affect their education coming into this year. Anish Gopisetty, a 7th grader at Centerville, tells The Monthly Mustang that, “...it was difficult getting used to using the apps and getting used to using Zoom meetings to learn, especially for subjects like English and History. Sometimes it was hard to understand, sometimes the teacher made errors in assigning things...It was a big difference for everyone.” This year, it’s evident that teachers are going to have the extra challenge of helping struggling students meet standards.
While we are learning on campus, health is still a concern with the pandemic a significant issue. Even though a majority of Centerville students have taken the COVID-19 vaccines, students continue to get infected,
and breakthrough cases (in which vaccinated people get the virus) are becoming more common as time goes on. To prevent a potential outbreak, schools have taken various safety measures such as implementing mask mandates - and while masks are helpful, it’s hard for students to wear them all day. For instance, most students have been finding it uncomfortable to wear masks during PE - something we can all relate to. There are also certain limitations to how many precautions can be taken in a school with hundreds of students. For example, it’s impossible to socially distance with such crowded lunch tables and classrooms, and nobody can supervise all the students to make sure they are keeping their masks on properly. Additionally, according to the Los Angeles Times,
only 53% of young Californians (ages 12-17) have taken the vaccine. That’s a scarily low percentage compared to the adult vaccination rate of 79% in Alameda County (according to statistics from the New York Times). In order for schools to stay open, student health needs to be accounted for.
Finally, as students enter in-person learning after a year of minimal in-person interaction, social anxiety will be a common issue. A December study by the US Census Bureau showed that more than 42% of the people surveyed had social anxiety and depression issues since COVID-19 began. Students have been using online platforms such as Discord, Zoom, or Google Hangouts to interact during distance learning, so many of us haven’t communicated face-to-face in a long time. Consequently, many students are struggling to interact with each other and find it awkward to make conversation. While we understand teachers are trying their best to get us to bounce back, it’s clear it’s going to be a challenging year for all students. Students hope that teachers, students, and parents all over the world are aware of this and will show support as we get back to school.
Students are no doubt concerned about the upcoming school year, with thoughts on academics, the threat of the virus, and social anxiety. The pandemic most definitely affected daily lives for teachers, adults, workers, and of course, students. We will be physically communicating with each other, wearing masks, and learning in person. Change is always hard, but unavoidable, and everyone is trying to adjust to the changes in their lives. Overall, as Centerville students enter a year fresh out of the pandemic, there will be struggles and challenges - but nothing worth doing is ever going to be easy.
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