Online Classes are a Bad Joke

The rise of Zoom had students across the country ecstatic at first as we couldn't wait to do class from bed––this was a short-lived thought––soon we dreaded class more than ever.

Online classes leave the feeling of a lack of attention, technical issues, outside distractions, time management, and a sense of uncertainty.

On my first day of online learning, I’ll admit it, I was excited to see what the virtual learning world was all about and thought there was a future for me here. At this point, I thought we were only going to be online for a couple days, maybe a couple weeks maximum. This is where I was wrong. I soon started losing motivation in everyday tasks and falling behind in my classes which had never been a problem for me before COVID-19 hit.

At the end of the Spring 2020 semester we were given the option of making some grades marked as “Satisfactory” or “Unsatisfactory” if allowed and before I thought this was an easy way out for people who didn't do their work or tried hard in school. I became one of them and hated myself for it.

In the Fall 2020 semester I tried to revamp my previous semesters decisions and I found myself emailing my professors for help rather than just seeing myself struggling helplessly. To my unliking, most of my professors would answer my emails asking for help and when they did there was a lack of communication and nothing would come from it. You can email them but only the reliable professors will email back.

It is getting increasingly harder to meet with professors that don't want to go the extra mile, because why should they when they are hiding behind a screen?

For me, this isn't even the biggest problem. I thrive off social interaction and missed face-to-face conversations with my peers. This accompanied my need for self-motivation to get my work done too and I was feeling lonelier than ever. Not having enough interaction with my peers or even my professors has been the biggest challenge of online classes. People like me enjoy speaking in class and seeing others' reactions after we talk: it's a good indicator of their feelings on what we just said out loud. Not having this interactive feeling and getting to walk to and from class with my friends and discuss what we are reviewing in class also made me feel academically behind. I miss the collaborative environment without the “joy” of sitting in-person with masks and six feet apart.

I understand the alternative but I do not support online classes.

For some, online classes might be the time to destress in a more comfortable learning environment. Or maybe even help with scheduling flexibility which could help them advance in work or school if that is the right type of schooling for them. The flexibility could also improve social life at the risk of falling behind in school. But I mean, others excel with flexibility and could be using this time online advancing in their career by updating their resume, taking on online work offers that look good with their degree, or completing certificates. If this is how you work, props to you because I am struggling in this pandemic.

I need scheduling and I feel extremely passionate about that. I need to have a daily routine either mapped out on a calendar or engraved in my head. This helps me have a structure so I don't fall behind on anything either socially, academically, or work related. I find it important to balance your life and this is the one way I can complete this perfectly. And as a result, I am more relaxed and some might say a better person to be around when I follow my structure through benchmarks and goals, and soon relieving pressure off my tasks.

Addressing stress and mental health has never been more important and this is not the time during isolation that we take a blind-eye to it. Schooling needs to be fully in-person. Students are hanging on by a string trying to succeed but how can we do this when we're hiding in our rooms from the outside world?

The future is never set in stone anymore, we are all living in our past memories and this is what online classes are teaching us. What kind of environment are we creating for the future?

COVID-19 has interrupted academic success and social interactions for generations to come.

That's why online classes really are a bad joke.