Currently, the United States has the most confirmed cases of the Coronavirus. America’s numbers have risen up to 762,496 people with this virus overall. As the virus continues to spread, many states have shut down schools for extremely long periods of time. Middle school students in Montgomery county have just recently begun using an online school system to reach their teachers and fellow students to continue on with the school year. Although there may be many technical difficulties for some students and teachers, they are working through this as best as possible to help students continue to get an education.
As a student in Montgomery County myself, I know that working from home has been difficult for my family and I. We have not left our homes in weeks and learning from home has been somewhat of a challenge for us. As my parents are working from home, some of my family members, including myself, are required to use the online school system. If there are any difficulties, my parents are the main source of assistance. Parents’ needs to attend to their children while continuing work may cause stress to the family. When children cannot find ways to stay occupied through being home so often, it can be difficult for middle schoolers and other children to cope with the homeschooling.
As a middle schooler, my everyday schedule has mainly consisted of going on some zoom meetings when I have questions with my teachers, doing schoolwork most of the day, which also means I need to be on electronics constantly, which is not very ideal. I then take breaks for food, to go outside and enjoy the weather on nice days, exercise, and go for runs. I try to get in as much time with my family as well by watching movies on nights when I do not have as much work. I also try to spend time with my friends over the phone and stay connected with them and keep up with them and their lives as much as possible.
Online schooling has honestly been one that is difficult for me. I am on electronics all day, I am not in the environment I usually am, in the school building, and I am not surrounded by my peers and other students that are there to keep me going throughout the day and bring me a positive surrounding ps to bring the school day excitement. Also, since my sports programs have been canceled, it is difficult for me to stay active, and make sure I am balancing exercise and school work well when I do not have team practices, physical education class, or just the exercise of walking around the school building constantly daily. Seeing my teachers only over a screen and not in person, is very different from in school. I usually have a clear way of seeing what they are teaching and sometimes over online school I do not. Hearing the teachers and connecting with them is not always easy.
Going on Zoom meetings is something I do more with my friends than with my teachers so it is new and something I am learning to get used to. It may feel awkward or unusual at first and some people may be shy to speak during these meetings, but as time goes by it does become helpful when struggling with online earning and assignments. After I have all my zoom meetings, around 3:00 PM, I continue to do more work till about 4:00 or 5:00 PM, depending on my amounts of work for that day. Then the rest of the day I try to do activities to bring up my mood. My family has been growing a garden, and I am redesigning my bedroom. I also try to stay active by working out, or going outside to play lacrosse on nice days. Overall, quarantine ntine has been difficult in many ways, but there are still benefits and ways to make the day positive.
Recently, I interviewed my classmate Shaunak Dua about his perspective on the coronavirus. He explained to me some of the things he misses about being out of quarantine. He misses school, his friends, sports, and being able to go out and do more entertaining activities with those he is currently not able to see. Shaunak stated that he has been “spending time with family and playing video games with friends.” Shaunak described very clearly how being under quarantine is difficult and can become boring at times for people of all ages, but it is important that we do stay home to protect others and get out of this quarantine.
My other classmate Sarah Virnbaum recently described to me how, “I miss hanging out with my friends and going to school to see people and having a good time.” This statement has been true for many middle schoolers who are simply longing for their friends, and seeing others in school to enjoy themselves. Sarah’s opinion on online school is, “Online school is confusing sometimes but it feels like normal school.” This shows that online school has mainly been working out well for Sarah.
However, many other students including myself may agree that it can be more difficult to truly comprehend the information and focus through online school. To keep Sarah occupied, she has been, “…trying new activities I can do at home by myself to keep myself happy and busy.”This statement describes how Sarah is working hard at home to stay entertained and keep a positive mindset throughout quarantine. Lastly, Sarah describes her true feelings about quarantine by saying, “During quarantine I feel a bit sad but I am trying to keep positive for the most part and look at things in a good way.” This shows people that staying at home can bring children’s positivity down, but they are trying their hardest to stay occupied and keep a positive mindset.
Furthermore, Shaunak and I both discussed how we understand this issue and that it is important to stay at home, even though it is becoming very difficult for families to do this. This virus is still continuing to spread, increasing in large numbers around the world. Most people are wearing masks and gloves in all outdoor and public places. Although staying at home is a large struggle for all of us, getting the virus is not worth it, and for this to end we need to stay safe.
People are not able to reach out into the outside world to see their families, friends, or even celebrate many holidays. I know many of my friends, family, and myself have been very hurt, and in pain because of this struggle of not being able to see others. People bring us joy everyday and many people are losing the love they had in their lives because of this virus. This virus has caused all of us a lot of pain, but by staying home it will be over sooner. Please stay safe, take precautions and think about others before trying to interact with the outside world. Leaving homes in Montgomery County is prohibited according to the Governor and we must obey and stay alert.
Article by Isabella Grabo of Herbert Hoover Middle School
Graphic by Sophia Li of Takoma Park Middle School