This past year has been mentally and physically challenging for many across the globe due to the CoronaVirus pandemic. Specifically in The United States, a major consequence from the vicious spread was the shutdown of all schools and learning facilities in order to try and prevent spikes in numbers, where eventually all schools decided in-person learning would not be possible for the time-being. However, the ways the education system handled this differed while some just threw work at students until summer ended, and others made students stay online for a certain period of time. With the summer coming to an end and school arising for the 2020-21 school year, the country realized not only would Covid still play a factor in learning, but that they had to quickly adapt and come up with a plan. 

Woodbridge Township specifically started with hybrid learning only if students were comfortable, for if they weren’t they could stay home to do full remote learning . For those who went Hybrid, they would only go certain days a week, but were required to wear masks. However, that plan quickly came to an end when covid cases started to occur starting with John F. Kennedy Memorial High School just two days in. Now, we are said to all be fully remote until sometime in March, yet it wouldn’t be with much doubt if it were postponed to a later date. Where does this leave the student’s mental and physical states, as well as their entire well-being?

Sophomore Alexa Pino had some opinions to add on the matter.

“I would say a con to this whole thing would be that it’s kind of hard to get some teachers to help if you have a question because they don’t always see when you need it,” Alexa said. “ I think everyone is having a hard time getting used to everything, but I definitely think some students are struggling because they don’t work well at home, and I feel like I’m just living the same day over again. I do feel really bad for seniors, because I know I would be worried to have a bunch of college applications due without a counselor by me all the time, with the fact that some teachers are giving way too much work online already.”

Additionally, When a poll was put up for seniors to answer how they felt on the matter, answers varied claiming things like that it was really difficult to do college applications, get one-on-one help with teachers, and how easy it was to get side-tracked, while others claimed that being at home actually pushed them to try harder in school. Freshman Kirushnavarshini Ranjan gave her views on how it felt to be a newcomer during this time. 

“I feel like I’m not really learning and just focusing more on grades,” she claimed. “When I go back to school it’s gonna be harder to connect with my teachers and know my way around since I’ve never really got a chance to be in the school.”

It remains obvious that all students and faculty are struggling to get settled in the “new normal” that is life right now, but the cost that comes with it is starting to become too high. Many students are beginning to not care about what they learn and only focus on the grades they get, while others’ mental health can continue to fall if they remain in this deadly cycle for any longer. No one has control of the disease that has impacted our whole world, however it may need to be thought out how to live life as of now with this pandemic and not cause more brutal fatalities to people’s mental health and drive.