How COVID-19 Has Affected Students
According to the Education Week Organization, as of March 17, over 70 percent of American high schools have been shut down for a certain period of time. Many states have ordered all schools to be closed for a certain period of time and many school districts have called off school for multiple weeks. Some schools have even been closed for the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year.
All NSAA events and practices have been cancelled or suspended for a long period of time. Track season is on the verge of being cancelled, and seniors are worried about the possibility of having no graduation. These cancellations can be scary and seem unreal, but they are for an important cause.
The COVID-19 virus, or Coronavirus, is a fast spreading and hard-to-see disease. The reason it has spread so much is because it can be spread while the person who has it is asymptomatic. The government is in a panic trying to stop the spread of the disease and to keep the country stable. One of the things they are trying to do is cancel schools and events with large crowds of people.
With all of this downtime, what are students doing to combat boredom? School takes up about seven and one half hours of our day, plus about 2-3 hours for sports practices or after-school activities. Going to school also provides students a routine and a way to be with friends. Some students enjoy school because it gets them out of a toxic or unsafe household.
I sent out a Google Form survey to all high school and middle school students and they shared what they have been doing with this extended break.
Many students have been spending time with their families. Many have been playing card games, exercising, and watching television with their siblings. I wonder how those without siblings are doing. Are you guys doing okay? It must be lonely without someone to pick on and hang out with.
The down time has given some students time to be productive. Some students have been cooking, doing puzzles, painting, and crafting. My older brother keeps posting his paintings that he’s made while following a Bob Ross tutorial and they look amazing! I tried to follow a tutorial the other day, but it turned out to be more of an “abstract” painting instead of some happy trees.
I think that the “quarantine” has been getting to us. I have found myself deep cleaning my room and bathroom, when usually I’m content with it being messy. Other students have been cleaning during the break as well. Either the kids are bored to death, or the parents are forcing them to do chores to keep their kids from driving them insane! At least some work is getting done, and without any rush!
A ton of responses mentioned watching a screen of some sort. Many have been watching TV or Netflix. I have personally been binging shows that I haven’t seen in a long time. I would totally recommend it, because it brings back memories and you get to see foreshadowing and character development!
Be aware that increased screen time can negatively affect your health. Staring at screens for over two hours can cause symptoms such as eye strain, blurred vision, headaches, and neck pain. On average, Harvard students have been spending over six hours on screens each day. Some students even shared that they spent ten or more hours on a screen per day!
52.4% of students have ranked their boredom a three or higher on a scale of one to five. Many students have also said that they have done everything they could to stay occupied and have run out of things to do. It is pretty early into our extended break to be this bored! When alone, students tend to feel more bored than compared to with friends. Due to social distancing being highly expected, students haven’t seen their friends since the last day of school.
Some have resorted to Facetiming or calling their friends to stay in contact. But what about those students who don’t have phones or devices? These students haven’t had much contact with anyone besides their household. After being with your family for so long, you start to get sick of them.
This amount of time spent cooped up at home can be unhealthy for many of us, so having a break is often needed. One way I like to take a break is by going on a walk with my dog. Spending time outdoors can be very relaxing and helps to clear your mind.
Many students have reported that they are worried about getting other people sick by going out, and I completely understand that! One way to avoid the potential spread of the virus is to avoid touching things in public spaces unless absolutely necessary. Going on a walk is a perfect activity to avoid touching things!
This time can be confusing and scary to some, but by closing schools and enforcing social distancing, we have been flattening the curve and fighting the spread of the COVID-19 virus. The staff at Harvard has been working very hard to stay in touch with their students and check in on their well beings. If you are struggling with boredom, intrusive thoughts, or any other issues, please make sure to reach out to your loved ones and trusted adults. We can all get through this together, even if we can't be there physically!
The form asked the students to give their advice to the general public, schools, and/or the government. Here is what they said:
“Keeping busy will take your mind off of what is going on. I know a lot of seniors specifically are feeling sad, but try writing about your high school memories or look through any ‘artifacts’ you have kept through the years. This has helped me a lot. Also, please stay inside unless you are an essential worker or you have to get groceries or something. By doing this, we all can do our part to beat this and ‘flatten the curve.’ The longer people don’t follow social distancing guidelines, the longer we will have to do it.”
“There’s really not much anyone can do except stay clean and healthy. If we do go back to school we could shorten the day like 10-2 so we have less contact with people for a shorter amount of time. But we would only take our required classes. We could also do this online but the problem is that not everyone has access to the Internet or a device.”
“Educate yourself, use reliable sources, the media isn’t a reliable source to see the severity of this. The media ultimately wants to scare you into reading more and more of their stuff. Find your own sources and form your own opinions.”