Phones, dogs, siblings, parents, construction, friends, and social media. These are just a few of the things that can distract a child while working from home. Distractions lead to lack of attention, which then creates an environment where students of all grades feel the need to cheat their way through school to succeed because of the lack of attention they have dedicated to virtual learning.

I have seen this happen at Emerson High School and many other schools where my friends go to school. Many students just do not have it in them to pay attention in class when there are so many other things that students could be doing when they are at home.  

The Washington Post, agrees saying, “Years of research shows that online schooling is ineffective — and that students suffer significant learning losses when they have a long break from school. Now they’re getting both, in a hastily arranged mess. And the kids who suffer most from the “summer slide” are the low-income students, the ones already struggling to keep up.” 

Although in some way this is our only option at the time, it is going to affect the students who are going through this for some time. Students will fall behind because they are not paying attention and not applying themselves, or holding themselves to the same standard that they would if they were in school. 

While some people automatically think that this is the parents fault, and that their parents are not doing enough to keep their children proactive and out of their bed. For a lot of schools and teachers, the first thing they would do is blame the parents who are not “involved” enough. Parents cannot hold their children’s hands through life and if a student is choosing not to put in enough effort because they are exhausted of online school , they only have the child to blame. 

The Washington Post they goes on to say, 

There is no research to measure what the effect of this massive break will be. In our lifetimes, Americans have never canceled so much school for so many children. But we know one thing for sure: The impact will not simply disappear. It will linger into next school year and beyond. Indeed, Hanushek and others have found that the effects of a single great teacher or a single substandard teacher can be measured into adulthood. And the negative effects of chronic absenteeism (typically defined as missing at least 15 to 18 days in a school year) on student achievement are clear — and dire.

What this shows is that the consequences of online school will be felt long after school systems return to “normal”. But there is no way to know how the lack of education is going to affect these children. 

It is also important to note that the teachers are doing the very best that they can, but at some point a student is overworked and they have no motivation. Or on the other hand, a student may be using this time to make the best out of it or by doing things that are necessary to keep their family together like taking care of siblings, working, and making meals for the family. 

Overall, the importance of school and learning cannot be state enough; the students who fell victim to pandemic virtual learning will be affected for the rest of their educational lives.