CL students speak up about online schooling

In the year 2020, on a random Friday in March, many students unknowingly sat through their last day of in-person school. COVID-19 quarantining began and what was initially thought to be temporary distance learning, has been a consistent form of learning ever since.

Now that online learning has replaced in-person learning, this pandemic has uncovered the drawbacks of such a system. This temporary solution has turned into a long-term burden for many.

Gibson Grim is seven years old and attends Tuscany Hills Elementary. He’s been there since he was three years old as part of a preschool program.

“Back in March, he was doing amazing,” Holly Grim, Gibson’s Canyon Lake mother, said. “He is in Mrs. P’s special needs class, but he was going into regular kindergarten classes with the help of an aide for a few hours a week.”

Since the pandemic hit and classes converted to remote learning, Gibson has taken steps backward, Holly said.

“I am also working remotely at home,” she said. “It just adds more to the chaos. Special needs kids need one-on-one personal attention. His teachers and aides are amazing and have done the best they can, but it’s just not working. We’ve stopped logging into class because he just runs away from the table.”

Reece Walsh, 10, is from Canyon Lake and is a fifth-grader at Tuscany Hills Elementary. Reece has also found some difficulties in online learning.

“Online learning is somewhat simple and somewhat super tough,” Reece said. “Having to do so many different tasks all due at a certain time is super hard for me. My teachers have been amazing. I’m grateful for them. They point out our mistakes and guide us the right way. I appreciate the district as well; they’re making sure we are up to the standards.”

Reece said she is excited to become a middle schooler next school year. She has been accepted into the Gems Magnet Program and she is hoping to enter the Western Science Academy. Her future goals include becoming an archaeologist or a pro tennis player.

Many students from local high schools have been delivering letters to Lake Elsinore Unified School District voicing their distance-learning concerns on failing mental health, stress and an overload of assignments.

“Online schooling has recently taken a toll on my mental health,” Ashley Funk, 14, from Canyon Lake, said. “I have also found that many people have had that same toll taken on them. But, I always remember that I still am being able to get my education in and it brings up my spirits.”

Ashley is currently a freshman who is involved in ASB at Temescal Canyon High School.

“Many people I know enjoy online schooling, including myself,” Ashley said. “But I do have some friends who particularly dislike online school due to confusion and feeling overwhelmed. Some people can only learn through in-person interaction.”

Ashley’s sister Hailey Funk, a junior at Temescal Canyon, has experienced difficulties in online schooling as well.

“Honestly, online school has caused me to become unmotivated and unusually tired,” she said. “I feel down because I feel trapped in my home with limited interaction, staring at a computer all day. The district can help by limiting time on Zoom. I feel no need for us to be lectured for the whole hour.”

Hailey said she feels that teachers need to be more in touch with their students and put more time into caring about how their students feel, rather than “piling on assignments.”

Another suggestion Hailey said she has is for teachers to possibly make assignments due at an earlier time than 11:59 p.m., so students don’t procrastinate as often.

“I think teachers should seriously ask their students what they find comfortable within learning and adjust, so students learn more efficiently,” Hailey said.

Hailey, who is involved in the school’s ASB and soccer team, said there are positives to distance learning, but the negatives outweigh the positives.

“Online school can be flexible, and I can be in the comfort of my home,” she said. “However, it is tiring staring at a screen for long hours and having little to no interaction with my peers.”