Students Share Their Experiences with Distance Learning and Coronavirus

Despite distance learning and coronavirus, I hope my professors make the rest of the semester reasonable

by Manoli Figetakis, freshman, Queensborough Community College, Queens, New York

Along with going to school, I own my photography business that I established in 2016. The coronavirus has impacted my company because there aren’t a lot of events for taking pictures. Each night the number of cases in New York City rapidly increase as the State Department issued travel warnings urging people not to visit the state.

When this virus began it was scary, because there were more sanitizer stations than usual all over campus, caution signs on how to cover your mouth and wash your hands properly and many students were wearing masks. Students had to leave two+ hours to commute to school and sometimes they were late because the trains and buses were behind schedule.

"Students had to leave two+ hours to commute to school and sometimes they were late because the trains and buses were behind schedule."

Over the course of that week my English professor started to give us instructions in the event the situation got worse and we were forced into a distance-learning environment. Conversely, my math professor didn’t mention or prepare us for the chance that we might move online. This was where my nerves set in a bit. I’m not as strong in math and find this subject hard to learn online without an explanation when I get a problem wrong. Going forward, I am making some adjustments and plan to email my math professor for help when I need it. 

While many colleges had announced closures, the CUNY (City University of New York) public university system of New York, remained opened. This prompted students to create a CUNY petition to close the schools because students did not feel safe going to class. Soon after, my college, Queensborough Community College, and all the CUNY schools, announced that they would have instructional recess (March 12-18) in which faculty and staff would prepare classes for distance learning, and that the rest of the spring semester starting March 19, would take place online.

I hope my professors make the rest of the semester reasonable, so I can succeed and keep on continuing my journey in photography, film and journalism.

Kat Gonzalez #SRL Reacts via PBS NewsHour’s Student Reporting Labs

Safety is of key importance for people in the community

by Amy Sullivan, 10th grade, Algonquin Regional High School, Southborough, Mass.

I think schools took the correct and appropriate actions to close until May 4th in Massachusetts. All in all, it’s always better to be safe than sorry. It is a proactive decision because it ensures that the spread of coronavirus doesn’t occur through school communities. This will delay the expansion and hopefully terminate the virus. It is difficult to manage the academics piece of this almost two-month long break but offering optional work is a way to keep students engaged. Safety is of key importance for people in the community.

Distance Learning and Coronavirus: How should schools respond?

by Anne Sterling Motley, seventh grade, Richmond County Middle School, Warsaw, Va.

Researchers believe one of the places the novel coronavirus comes from is the pangolin, an anteater, in China found to carry related strains to the coronavirus, according to the BBC. Other experts say it is important not to blame the animals because human behavior has caused the spread of the virus. Our planet is set up for a pandemic because of populated cities and travel across countries and continents. The risk for pandemic has been increasing over the last century exactly for these reasons.

"Our planet is set up for a pandemic because of populated cities and travel across countries and continents."

Our school’s reaction is based on how long the virus lasts and how quickly it spreads. When it started out, it seemed possible that in elementary school, kindergarten, first and second grades could go on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. On Tuesday and Thursday, fourth and fifth grade go, and switch the days every week. But on March 23rd, Virginia announced schools would be closed for the remainder of the school year.

Cole Fletchall-Silva #SRL Reacts via PBS NewsHour’s Student Reporting Labs

Make good use of the time or else it’s going to be wasted

by Zheming Gu, seventh grade, Beijing City International School, Beijing, China

I’m sorry to hear that Americans have also had to go into quarantine. I recommend you find a way of having fun passing the time. For me, playing board games and cards and chess with my dad have been enjoyable.

I hope kids in the U.S. can adjust quickly to online learning. I had trouble at first because I had never had to do remote learning before and ended up with some overdue work. But in the end, I pulled my act together and handed in all of my assignments. Our school probably won’t open again until next semester. At least we still get holidays. During spring break and summer break, my teachers won’t send us assignments, which means I can just relax at home.

Since COVID-19 has now spread across the world, some tips that helped me to understand the threat of coronavirus was to take it seriously and not to compare it inaccurately to the flu, which in part was due to how some political leaders originally discussed the problem. Keep in mind that there is a vaccination for the flu, and it is more widely understood by the public.

"I had trouble at first because I had never had to do remote learning before and ended up with some overdue work."

Scientists are working round the clock to learn more about the coronavirus, including its origins, how it spreads and how it kills a person. Social distancing has become a necessary tool to use if you need to talk with someone in public. But the safest thing you can do is to stay home.

With so much free time on our hands, it is the perfect moment to try out new recipes. I tried a new pasta recipe the other day. It’s mostly the sauce that took a long time. To make the sauce you need pasta sauce, onions, leeks, chives, tomatoes and black pepper. You mainly just chop up the vegetables and then sauté them in the sauce. Then you mix in the pasta and it’s ready to eat. Of course, on a normal Friday, I would never get the chance to make something like this so being stuck at home does have some perks.

"Of course, on a normal Friday, I would never get the chance to make something like [pasta sauce] so being stuck at home does have some perks."

One of the most important things a person can do to keep healthy is to exercise. I’m not talking about anything too drastic. Right now, all of our extracurricular classes also incorporate online learning, which is also how I have stayed healthy. My swimming class has exercise sessions every other day and we do push-ups, sit-ups and planks.

Another thing to do is to find something you enjoy doing. Make good use of the time or else it’s all going to be wasted. Spend time with family. Playing board games and chatting are both good ways to pass the time. Try to cook or bake with your parents. The coronavirus epidemic is not going to end anytime soon, so we must find ways to entertain ourselves during this period.

• This article was originally published by PBS Newshour Extra and can be found here.
• Download a handout detailing student privacy resources for distance learning here.
• Get information for responding to COVID-19 from AFT
• Join AFT Share My Lesson’s Remote Learning Community with preK-12 learning resources for educators and parents