Distance Learning. An unusual term, but one we have gotten used to. As days are passing, 2020 has been the most impacted year concerning education and GPA’s. Teachers, Students, Counselors, and so many more have been concerned about the fact of grade levels dropping.

    When you sign up for most online courses nobody asks you to leave if you don’t participate. Staring at a screen for 8 hours or more, then working on assignments on the same screen, it’s tiring as it is to even pay attention in class.

   “There are a small portion of students who are thriving with this type of learning environment. These students prefer the smaller interaction created by remote learning. However, most feel isolation and sadness. In person learning is the best way for students to get a well-rounded education,” said said Tamatha Pennington, an AP Psychology teacher at Heritage High School.

   With in-person classes dropped, the structure by which many coordinated their day had vanished, leaving students, parents, teachers, etc. feeling lost. It’s a huge distraction knowing you’re at home and have non-work environments triggering stress, motivation, and energy to get up and start work. It’s all about turning in something without spending time, and that’s one of the leading causes for GPA drops.

   “Honestly, it goes in one ear and out the other. When I’m learning in my room, it’s a more relaxed environment, so it’s hard to retain the information that I need to. It’s a lot easier when I’m in an environment designed for learning,” said Ari Sanve(11).

   In person learning has always created an environment of eye contacts, participation, and hands on learning. Now it gives so much freedom to a point where we can’t handle it. It gives us more pressure to be responsible for our own learning.

   “Although my grades have remained consistent, I definitely have a weaker understanding of the concept and I do the bare minimum of the A. Usually at school I’d have this work environment to motivate me, but now it’s just really bad,” said Olivia Johnson(11) sharing her views on her workload and grades.

   The absence of face-to-face interaction between the teacher and their students has been the biggest disadvantage. Students cannot raise their hands to ask questions during the class to clarify information or to share their own ideas with the class. This makes it more difficult for students to understand the material and build new connections in their brain.

   “Some students are thriving with DL and have discovered they really like online classes, but others are struggling. Statistically, the overall number of students with at least one F grade is up. We won’t officially know until semester 1 ends,” said Mrs. Morgan one of our school counselors.

  Every person has been affected by COVID, and with it comes a lot of difficulties we have to endure during this tough time. In hopes of our education, teachers and counselors do want to provide the best for their students, in a way that motivates them and helps their grade go up, knowing they accomplished their goal during this era of Distance Learning.