How Remote Learning Days Affect Students

As a student in the hybrid learning model, school has been significantly different. Sleep schedules and daily schedules vary every day, as does everything else this year. This new format of learning is a foreign concept to all students, and certainly has had effects on them. Particularly, remote learning days have had the most impact, as most are used to being in school full time. Of course, both pros and cons have come out of this new learning experience.

Pros

Throughout this year, I have felt more independent, and as a result, more accomplished. This is due to the fact that on remote days I have to properly manage my time to guarantee that my assignments will be done in a timely fashion. Creating planners and checklists have not only made me more organized, but it also makes me feel proud of myself. With so many assignments being thrown at you at once, finishing more and more gives you a sense of accomplishment and pride. Remote learning days also give you the opportunity to go at your own pace. Food breaks can be taken at any time, and sitting through boring lectures can be avoided when you can teach yourself. Overall, you plan how your day will go based on your own motivation as well as other factors. Another great pro is that you can really wake up whenever you want!

Cons

Although some benefits may come from remote learning, the cons heavily outweigh them. Firstly is the pure stress that comes with these days. Waking up to find everything that has been assigned for the day is not exactly a welcome sight. Stressed about how I can finish all my work by a reasonable time, I usually get to work immediately. Sometimes, so many assignments are given that I don’t have enough lines in my planner to fit them all. Stress from the sheer amount of work as well as trying to maintain grades often has negative effects on me.

Lack of social interaction is also a very prominent issue. One of the largest impacts of the hybrid model was that many friend groups were split up into separate cohorts. With this, while some are at home, others will be at school. This limits the time that friends can communicate with each other, and messaging still isn’t the true interaction that humans crave. Talking with peers and teachers, working together (while socially distanced of course), and just seeing other faces is beneficial, but those are not available during remote learning days. This can create a lonely and isolated atmosphere for students, negatively affecting mental health.

I’ve also noticed the repetitiveness of each day, which leads to no motivation to complete schoolwork. Every remote day is exactly the same. Nothing changes, and each day drags along monotonously only to wake up and do it again. This repetition often makes me feel lethargic and lazy, and I find it hard to do work. Additionally, as I work in my bedroom, many things distract me such as my bed and phone. More often than not, I end up procrastinating work, which later comes back to haunt me.

Overall, the way we are learning this year has changed drastically and is a totally new concept to all students. While it may take some getting used to, we might one day be acclimated to this new system. It would be more preferable however to go back to normal completely!

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