COVID-19: Impact on Our High School Closure & Education - Essay Sample

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected our high school negatively. The pandemic, which has affected schools globally, necessitated the closure of schools worldwide for safety reasons and to help curb further spread of the virus. School activities have been affected in various ways.

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First, the pandemic has led to the indefinite closure of our high school. When the outbreak started, all schools in the country needed to be closed to prevent further spread of the virus (Anderson et al., 2020). The principal instructed that all students stay home until further notice. However, the school organized for online classes through online learning platforms such as Google Classroom and Zoom. Even though this alternative is better than nothing, it still does not match up to having a physical class. The online class is not as effective as the physical class for various reasons. First, an online class is not as interactive as a physical class. The number of questions asked during an online class is smaller compared to a physical class. Teachers are not able to spot learning difficulties while in an online class as frequently as they would in a physical class. Moreover, one is not able to consult their fellow students about a particular topic in an online class as one would do in a physical class. Lastly, the online class has reduced social interaction in class, which is an integral part of learning.

COVID-19 gave rise to a reduction of attendance numbers in class. When the school adopted the online learning program, most students were not ready or well-equipped to switch to an online class. Some students do not have functional internet connectivity, and they struggle to listen or understand what the teacher is teaching. They may miss essential concepts that are being taught because of the slow internet. Some students may miss class altogether, for reasons of lack of access to a good computer or lack of stable internet.

The pandemic has disrupted the assessment of students throughout the school. The closure of schools coincided with the assessment period of the term. These assessments had to be canceled as they could not be done while students were not present in school. The internal assessments help a great deal in identifying learning weaknesses among the students. These assessments also relay information on the progress of our learning to our teachers and our parents. Therefore, it will be tough for teachers to assess our learning habits while we are out of class. The school has introduced online assessment, but it is not as effective as assessments done while in school, as the online platform is not something we are used to, and the evaluation may not be as accurate as when they're done in school.

The COVID-19 pandemic has also affected this year's graduate students. The pandemic led to the interruption of the studies of students in their final year of high school. This is a big disappointment to both the students and their parents, as it disrupted the students' concentration. These students' exams have been postponed. As it is not known precisely when we will resume school, these students have no idea when they will graduate from high school and move on to new chapters of their lives.

With the closure of the school, all the extra-curricular activities in school had to be halted too. All kinds of games and sporting events were postponed until further notice. This was a significant disappointment to the students, as most students in our school participate in sports. School teams of sports such as the swimming team, the hockey team, and the soccer team had to postpone the games and competitions they had planned with neighboring schools. Students cannot participate in physical activities at home as well as they can when they are in school because of the stay-at-home advice given by the government to prevent the spread of the virus.

The pandemic has reduced social interaction among students. Social communication, which helps shape friendships among students in school, has been deemed almost non-existent by the pandemic. Students now rely on mobile phones and computers to keep in contact with each other. Social interaction also helps share problems with friends. Being at home, some students may not trust their parents enough to talk to them about their issues. Students need a safe space to express their emotions and thoughts without fear of judgment, and they often find this in their friends in school.

Overall, the COVID-19 has had a substantial negative impact on my school. The effects of the pandemic will have a lasting impact on the students even after the virus disappears. More and more students are finding it hard to cope with the new situation of staying at home and having online classes. Teachers and parents should come together to encourage students that the pandemic will not last forever, and they should use this time to improve on their academics and their relationships with their parents and guardians.

References

Anderson, R. M., Heesterbeek, H., Klinkenberg, D., & Hollingsworth, T. D. (2020). How will country-based mitigation measures influence the course of the COVID-19 epidemic?. The Lancet, 395(10228), 931-934.