Students face challenges adapting to extended traditional learning

Students all around the world face unique challenges this school year amid the coronavirus pandemic. Some students are back in the classroom, some do online learning and some do hybrid learning. Online learning has many challenges for students and teachers and no one is in it alone. It is a challenge for some students. I am a student who chose to participate in the extended traditional learning format at Jenison High School and know firsthand how challenging it can be. 

Online learning is a challenge that no one experienced before and everyone had to learn how to deal with it at once. Many students choose to do online learning this school year for the safety and health of their families. Doing online school brings many challenges and this article brings more awareness to that. This article also talks about a topic that is a current situation for many students.

One of the biggest issues kids learning online have to face is good WiFi to do school. During this unique school year, when cable companies have an outage, it causes WiFi to go out in many homes around the area and causing problems and panic for students and parents who do classes through Zoom. WiFi can be slow while in classes causing screens to freeze then some students miss a lesson from class. 

“I think the hardest part for me is  WiFi issues during class,” stated Kathryn Soderstrom.

However, teachers understand the possibility of WiFi issues and help students get back on track.

Another difficulty with trying to adjust to online school for students and teachers is how to manage the so-called “challenging” classes, like math and science. Many teachers, for example science teachers, have to figure out how to do labs for online students. A lot of the time online students listen to what they do because it is the best way. Another subject that is a challenge for many students online is math. When I asked the three people I interviewed what class was hardest to do online, all three said math.

“I think the hardest class for me to do online is my math class,” stated Michelle Tran. 

Another challenging part for students learning online is time management and staying organized. Many students who are online this year learn how to organize their school work since a lot of it is on the computer. When in school previous years, students usually just put all their work in a paper folder and keep it in there till the next day. This year, many things are on a Google Doc or submitted to Google Classroom and it is definitely different and an adjustment for students. Students also learn more about time management with doing school online and also doing homework.

“It is a challenge to separate schoolwork and free time when at home,” stated Christine Tran.

In conclusion, this school year is unique and is an experience like never before. Online school definitely has its challenges and takes some time to get used to. I have done online school since the beginning of the year and still have some challenges with it. Online school is a different experience for everyone, but it is the best option for the current situation.