Editor’s note: We’re looking for a variety of young voices to contribute to “Hits Different.”
If you’d like to write a commentary, send it to Area Editor Jason Hennington at jason. hennington@granitemediapartners. com.
I think we can all agree that quarantine during the pandemic was nobody’s favorite time. Although we have seen the effects on our community, some may overlook how the situation affected students.
When this whole thing started, it didn’t matter what grade you were in — it was a rough time for everybody. For me, sixth grade was when we went on lockdown. Of course, any kid’s first thoughts are, “Yeah, OK! I’m good with not having to go to school!”
Or, “Sweet, an extra week of Spring Break!
Awesome!”
However, as you know, it wasn’t just one extra week. One week turned into two.
Two turned into three.
Before we knew it, it was the end of the 2020 school year, yet it felt like it wasn’t, since we’d been at home the rest of the academic cycle.
We were stuck in our residences but still had to attend school online, only now we didn’t have to turn in Google Slides before Friday at 11:59 pm. In other words, one might call it, “The Spring Break that Never Ended.”
Besides the impact quarantine had on schools, many pupils were hit hard. As middle schoolers, we depend on that time in class to learn not only academics and studying habits, but behavior and socializing/ communicating.
Being away from in-person school for as long as we were had such a huge impact on us. Even today, one can still see the effects of the lockdown just by observing how learners act towards each other and their educators.
I’ve seen firsthand the way some students treat adults. It’s almost as if during those couple of years of isolation involving online or distance learning, they forgot how to respect teachers and administrators. Maybe that’s exactly what happened. For eighth graders, their last full, normal school year was when they were in fifth grade, so of course they’re still kind of stuck in that mindset.
Even though that’s no excuse to disrespectfully treat an adult, I think that aspect must be considered.
Another acknowledgement is that kids of any grade or age depend on social interactions pretty much every day. When we lost that for the long duration we were stuck at home, the social isolation took its tool. It felt so abnormal not being able to just go out and hang with friends so freely. For some of us, it meant wondering what everyone was up to since we weren’t seeing them each day, or feeling left out even though we were all experiencing the same thing.
Lonely, is what one might call it.
Yet once we returned to the classroom, things weren’t much better — at first. Yes, we were at least able to go to inperson classrooms if we chose, but there were of course the classmates who decided to opt out, remain home and stay online. In my opinion, online school was challenging. It was hard to know exactly what was going on, when everything was due, who was in all your classes if you needed help with an assignment, etc.
School wasn’t quite back to normal when we initially returned.
We still had to wear masks, COVID-19 remained a threat, and it was weird not having everyone on campus. However, we were lucky enough to be able to actually have a choice to even go to school.
Another thing is athletics. I remember having to cancel a few volleyball games as well as our last couple of basketball games due to COVID outbreaks.
Now things have normalized in a way.
Definitely more normal than the 2020-21 school years, but not fully straightened out like things used to be.
Perhaps things won’t ever truly go back to the way they were. Of course, there’s always going to be that cautious feeling that quarantine gave us that we can’t, and maybe never will, dismiss.
Being stuck at home for so long did a number on all of us, but it’s important to look back at the past and understand what kind of impact the experience had on us.
It’s one thing to just see what happened over the past couple of years and say, “Oh well, just another problem we’ll have to deal with in the future.” It’s another thing to try and do something about it.
What can we do to help pave the way for this new way of life and leave the past behind us, and get ready for the challenges of coming years?
