These comments were taken directly from students on the Grizzly Growler Instagram account to allow teachers to understand some of the small hardships that make a student’s school life difficult.

The free time we had before is not the same anymore. 

Before, we would have time in school to learn and time at home to work and divide our time easily. But now with the pandemic, we’re at home all the time. That means siblings and jobs galore eat up students’ time. Some think that “because it’s online,” it becomes a given that we have more time. This is not true. Even if students didn’t have work or siblings, mental health in school has become a MAJOR issue. 

We’re all sad and silently stressed about everything.

Deep down, most of us know that we can do the work and it may not be that hard. But for most of us, this is our first time learning at home. Our routine, mental capacity, and learning capabilities are drastically affected. Homelife, the internet and so much more have affected mental health. Learning online doesn’t have the same hands-on or personable experience for us, so even if you’re teaching well, we most likely have to reteach ourselves. In the first semester of online learning, CCSD had a reported 11 students who committed suicide, whereas in 2019 there was one. 

Our cameras aren’t off because we’re not paying attention.
There is always an exception to everything, but most students face a massive amount of self-esteem issues, as well as a home environment that we don’t feel safe or comfortable sharing. And it is different to be on camera versus being in school, and that’s all based on control, comfort, and availability. At the beginning of school, tons of social media platforms were taking videos of “this beautiful girl in class,” and many students may not want to feel like an ugly duckling in a row cause you just didn’t wake up early enough to get ready. Not to mention, there’s the fear of being the only kid on camera. 

While there may technically be less work, it’s all done out of class which feels like more.

We understand that teachers had to plan most of the work last minute to fit online while also learning how to teach online! We get it, and we feel for you. But because we don’t do as much “classwork,” and it’s all “asynchronous time,” it piles up quickly.  The lectures need to be long enough to understand, but that leaves us to do all of the other asynchronous work later in the day or week. This can pile up to be 10 or more assignments in a day or two. Whereas in school, even some of the harder classes only had  1-2 homework assignments and a couple of in-class assignments per class. That difference is major time management for our work.  

The online dress code online is ridiculous. 

The point of it is practically ridiculous, considering students are rarely on camera, and if they are, the argument of “too much shoulder” in your Zoom class is impractical. With the world right now, no one is distracted by or even paying attention to what someone else is wearing. Obviously, we want students to be fully dressed, but some teachers’ syllabuses have made a point to follow the “dress code” online.
Students and teachers are both working toward doing their best in the midst of the worst, and that is recognized, but from a student perspective, these are the things for you to know that would make a difference in our lives. During a pandemic, teaching and learning are difficult for everyone online. Having to learn new topics and new tech, and teaching students you’ve never met in person is hard to juggle.