Losing Momentum to a Grey Screen

The past year has required students and educators to account for a lot of changes, from a change of plans to changes in learning systems. As we adapted to a new sense of normal (in the many iterations of that term), we may have found life a lot more difficult than we experienced before. I think for one we have learned some things about ourselves and our learning styles. 

For others, finding healthy activities during isolating times was our only beacon in the night, despite dreaming of days where we would feel more like how we used to. Although days now may be looking brighter as stores reopen and people appear to be living more normally, we cannot pass over the grey area we have scoured in between. The quality and structure of transitional online education has negatively affected mental health for some students during the Coronavirus.

There is a well-accepted understanding that humans work better when they are not isolated. Physically, psychologically and I think even for creative ventures, humans crave degrees of connection. When inspired by another, we feel motivated and energized towards achievement. True connected minds, when united towards a positive goal, can provide incredible experiences or results. The virus precautions have caused us to lose this connectivity and inspiration. While of course this was necessary, there have been consequences. Losing connectivity causes many young minds to suffer, especially in collaborative and communication-intensive learning fields. 

A main issue lies in the inherent structure of transitional education. Students have been milled for a century to go to class, attend lectures, and go home and do homework. In class, they experience learning through another’s perspective and are able to interact with other students. The traditional classroom brings attention problems of its own, however, when pushed home even with similar materials, issues students face may become harder to manage. There is no teacher standing in front of the class, practically requiring your undivided attention. 

Instead, there is the cat in the other room, or a loud truck going by, or a computer screen that is begging not to be stared at. Without being forced out of the house every day, our brains have difficulty switching onto ‘activate’ position. It takes our brain 15 to 30 minutes to enter a wakeful state, and that happens through physical movement and mental stimulation. A simple walk to class would be enough. On top of it, our brain tries to distract us from a goal every three minutes. Trying to get into an activated and mentally capable state for online study when there are a plethora of distractions makes transitional education insurmountably challenging.

Here, there is no change of environment day to day. It is the feeling of being chained to the desk, to the computer, and grueling yourself through the work. I don’t look at the situation bleakly, but that is still how I feel. Seven days a week there is something to do. Or something that could be done. Although once so motivated and determined at school, it all seems to fade away now. 

Every day is the same, every day is work and things are, to say, ungratifying. There is no connection. There is cold, metallic loneliness. Online learning provides such a blank slate to build a relationship from, and not one where it’s easy to start. Attention problems and lifestyle factors all play a part in this disconnection. Being forced online, being forced alone, exacerbates any preexisting conditions learners may have already experienced in the classroom. It just looks different, and feels different, when you are in your home environment everyday and there seems to be no division between school, home, off, or on. 

There is no figuring out when to do what. A cloud covers everything, and you wake up, “not this again. I want to be done with the computer. I know it’s over soon. But every day goes by so slowly, then night comes and I seem to have gotten nothing done. All I’m doing is running in circles every day”. For students, education is what we do and is what we are for these few years. When our school plans are not going favorably, we really begin to question life, and our mental health becomes strained on top of the stress we already experience. 

At a minimum this online style works to go through class and learn new material in sometimes an engaging way with the different types of media used (online videos, readings, lectures, movies, slides, discussions). Most of the time, online learning feels like a medium place of learning. Scraping by. Nothing out of the box or extraordinary.

 If you have ever attended a lecture with a favorite teacher or professor you know what I am talking about. The kind of learning that will get you up at 6:30, leave by 7:10 to get to the quad for your 7:30 a.m. macro/micro economics class. I mean, that would never get anyone up out of bed unless the class had an inspirational professor behind it. That kind of passion and intellect just cannot be transmitted through a computer screen to the same effect. 

Some students may have faced other experiences this past year. I know individuals who prefer online learning, and find it more flexible, easier to manage, and even more interesting. For those that don’t mind handling a higher volume of reading, can focus for long periods at a computer, have exceptional self – discipline, or don’t prefer an arguably busier classroom setting, online learning is a reliable option. 

I also think that students who remained on campus instead of going home, or held a job also would have faced a different experience. They would have had forms of interaction or support in different ways, just as staying home leads us to other results. For me, in some part I think no matter where I was I would have had the difficulties I’ve had this past year. Not being able to stare at the computer, finding it hard to knock my brain into activation mode, and hardly being inspired. 

I am a student that requires traditional education to really get the most out of my experience. I have learned this year that I require a change of environment to focus, and I just need to not be sitting at the same desk every day. I have been channeled through the traditional education system my whole life, and that is just what works well for me. For a short time online learning has served its purpose, but for my senior year I hope to experience the basics of traditional learning once again.