COVID-19 REFLECTIONS: Focusing At Home With Online Classes
Education is important. Don’t even get me wrong. But I’m sure by now all of you have been moved for the most part to online classes. I’m sure I can also be convinced that while you’re taking online classes, you’re at home. Of course with being at home, if you’re a college student like me, most likely you’re not in your own apartment. Instead, you’re at home with your parents and siblings if you have anything or any other relatives. Either way, most of you may be around people while you have to keep up with your classes.
I know for me, my household can get crazy. With babies running in and out of here for me to babysit and then my parents or my sister can walk in at any given time while I’m online doing class virtually, it can be a hot mess. The distractions are at its all-time high. Even while I’m doing this blog, someone is trying to get me in conversation or my baby cousin is trying to play with me. It’s crazy, and I know it’s hard to keep up with the work, period.
Some people may not have the proper internet access to attend the virtual classes nor to access their assignments through Blackboard. Trust me, I understand your pain and frustrations with this whole new setup. It’s a lot to take in and it was so sudden. I honestly dislike this new method of schooling. I feel like since everyone has to communicate via the Internet in some form of fashion, it’s harder to keep up with emails and assignment due dates. Professors already have their own households to worry about, and since they have multiple classes an abundance of students, their responses to emails are delayed which is also very understandable but frustrating at the same time because communication gets lacked.
I also think it’s harder to attend these virtual classes because the Wi-Fi is unpredictable. Sometimes it runs slower because there’s so many people on it. Sometimes it cuts off and you miss certain aspects of the lecture. However, something that really helps with this is that all the professors are understanding. They make sure that the students are accommodated for so that if there is any trouble experienced, it won’t be held against us.
I just wanted to open up a space for us to discuss this. Again, these are certainly uncertain times and it’s hard for us to understand what’s going on. Every time we turn on a news channel or look on social media, there’s a new announcement about extending the quarantine shutdown. It’s inevitable at this point, but once again we need to continue to stick together and make sure things run as smoothly as they can at this point. It’s a lot to take in, especially when it comes to school. My heart goes out to all the seniors out there this year, those both in high school and college, because senior year is one of the most important years of your life with both. Not just because you’re graduating, but also because of the festivities that everyone looks forward to. For high school, there’s homecoming, prom, and graduation itself and for college, it’s those alike. Times are still rolling, so we will continue, but trust and believe you’re not the only one feeling this.