I m a Public School Teacher. The Kids Aren t Alright.
When we were physically in school, it felt like there was no longer life in the building. Maybe it was the masks that made it so no one wanted to engage in lessons, or even talk about how they spent their weekend. But it felt cold and soulless. My students weren t allowed to gather in the halls or chat between classes. They still aren t. Sporting events, clubs and graduation were all cancelled. These may sound like small things, but these losses were a huge deal to the students. These are rites of passages that can t be made up.
In my classroom, the learning loss is noticeable. My students can t concentrate and they aren t doing the work that I assign to them. They have way less motivation compared to before the pandemic began. Some of my students chose not to come back at all, either because of fear of the virus, or because they are debilitated by social anxiety. And now they have the option to do virtual schooling from home.
I fear the whole lock down CF has ruined my youngest son’s high school years, and they had their problems to begin with. It makes me very sad.