How High School Students Struggle and Cope with Virtual School

Nikhil Kothari is an athletic and busy sophomore. He says “Time management is a constant struggle.” Simple tasks, like doing homework or completing an assignment takes him longer and overtakes more time out of his already busy schedule. He would like to have 8 hours of sleep every night but seems to be losing an hour every time he takes

longer on an assignment. Instead of getting his homework done during the day, he waits until his “relaxation hours” during the evening to complete work at the last minute. Kothari decided to invest in a planner, and he recommends that every student should. He also uses a calendar to track events and reminders that happen further in the week. Nikhil has started doing work in his free time instead of late at night, and has been planning out his days so that his well being is a higher priority.

Olivia Serio is a hardworking and social sophomore that shares different struggles, she says “I miss the camaraderie and discussions we used to have in school.” Olivia’s learning style is discussing in class and uncovering the “why” in the lesson. She has a hard time doing so when her learning is virtual and has decided that her lessons have been less enriching than she’d like. Online school has been hard for her, but she has found ways to make up for the struggles she experiences. Serio has gotten past the awkward silence in her zoom calls and has taken the initiative to unmute her microphone and speak up just like she would have in class. When IA decided to go hybrid, she took advantage of this and decided to go in person and discuss with her class to create normality and aid her learning style.

Margaret de la Fuente is a high achieving learner and leader. She says “I have noticed both me and my peers have experienced moments of loneliness. Many feel like this time will not end and are losing hope in our current situations.” Even though Maggie finds learning a priority, her social life is as important. She finds herself alone most of the day, which is a change for all high school students. To solve this problem, Maggie has decided to virtually reach out to her friends, spend more time with her family, and keep busy with her multiple extracurriculars. Dance is her outlet. She recommends finding something outside of school that adds entertainment and reduces stress from your life.

Rekha Krispin is a national runner and has a lot on her plate. Krispin describes her online experience with, “I am struggling with staying motivated and focused without distractions. I find it hard to concentrate and have the motivation to finish assignments on time.” Rekha finds herself distracted when given the option to independently work and wastes time with distractions like the social media app, Tiktok. Rekha has come up with ways to end distractions in class, like putting her phone away and only watching Tiktok during the evenings. Krispin has also aided her motivation struggles by getting ready in the morning and doing self-care to create a more similar school experience at home.

Nicholas Dumbrique is an intelligent and organized student who has recently been experiencing some struggles during online learning. He says, “It’s been hard for me to get to class on time and keep track of time when I’m at home.” Nic describes his learning experience at home as less stressful compared to school but has decided that focus and time management has been more of a struggle. Dumbrique has decided that drinking coffee and staying off screens during class is the only answer to a more efficient learning experience at home and has resolved to finding a more fast pace learning style, just like he had at school in person.

After interviewing with some of my classmates, I have learned that online school has been a challenging time for all of us. It takes maturity, intelligence, and perseverance to overcome some of the many challenges experienced while online. These interviews are used for other students to relate and learn from some of the challenges these students had to overcome. Online school isn’t easy, but it is the easiest way to stay safe!