A wall showcases paper with the words of potential stress-causing factors in students’ lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. Clarke Central High School students are finding it difficult to complete the online learning workload, on top of the rest of their life at home. Photo by Grace Lang
As Clarke County School District closes its fifth week of online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, students are continuing to struggle with their online assignments.
On April 1, Georgia Governor Brian Kemp ordered the closure of all public schools for the rest of the school year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, introducing seven more weeks of at-home online learning.
Students are being given too much work to take on without the help of an in-person teacher, making it difficult for students to keep up their grades and learn effectively. As everyone adjusts to this new normal, there are many students who consistently struggle to complete their work on time at home.
A wall showcases paper with the words of potential stress-causing factors in students’ lives during the COVID-19 pandemic. Clarke Central High School students are finding it difficult to complete the online learning workload, on top of the rest of their life at home. Photo by Grace Lang
CCSD Interim Superintendent Xernona Thomas reaffirmed the guideline set for teachers that high school students should not be working “more than three hours” per day. Yet students, like Clarke Central High School junior Elizabeth Scott, find themselves working on school for most of the day.
“It’s been pretty overwhelming, compared to what I was expecting, or compared to what you’d think you’d get over a quarantine, in an environment when you’re not with your teachers or in a school setting,” Scott said. “I have four or five assignments from each class, per week. Most of them are just four, but even then they’re pretty lengthy assignments, and they take me, it depends on the class, but (it) can take anywhere from like 30 minutes to two or three hours to complete (each assignment).”
The current global situation and a student’s home life are unpredictable and stressful during the pandemic, making school even harder for students. CCHS sophomore Alexandra Umana’s father, Santiago Umana, fell ill and had to be quarantined in their home until his test returned negative, which took an emotional toll on her and affeceted her school work.
“(My father’s COVID-19 scare) affected me emotionally, because of (my family) having to take care of him but by a distance, and I still had to be responsible over my (school) work,” Umana said.
Everyone, teachers and students alike, is under immense pressure right now. Teachers have managed to transition their curriculum online in a matter of weeks, and students have had to adapt to online learning.
Because of this pressure, students should not be graded as they would during the school year, though they should still receive grades. As new content begins to be taught online, understanding is more important than intensive grading. No student’s overall grade should suffer if they completed the assignment, whether it was up to standards or not.
When teachers assign work every weekday, students are left feeling overwhelmed. Teachers should instead assign one assignment at the beginning of the week and have it due at the end. It will allow the student time to work when they can and work around their sometimes chaotic home life.
Students require extra support during this difficult time, and the CCSD and teachers need to help their students make it to the end of the school year on a good note.
