THE FRUSTRATIONS, challenges, adjustments, hard work that teachers, students, and parents alike have to make in this pandemic are heart-wrenching. It is good to know, however, that many are rising up to the challenge, as shown in our articles.
Here are some more of the responses of students to a survey on the most difficult things they are experiencing with online learning and how they try to make the most of it.
My last year of being a junior high school student was not the best. We did not have a physical graduation ceremony, and both of our JS prom and Retreat were canceled.
One of the challenges that I’ve been encountering this school year is my relationship with my classmates, but I won’t be allowing that challenge to stop [me from] achieving my goals. (CNA, 17)
I lack time management. I often overlook the task given by my professors which ends with me procrastinating. I feel overwhelmed by the number of lessons to study and my duties as a child and a sister. This will really be a challenging semester for me but I hope that I have learned my lessons last semester so that I won’t make the same mistakes this semester. (LDG, 18)
I’m at home, I get easily distracted by my phone and the surroundings. (NMBi, 16)
Sometimes there is a lot of schoolwork to be passed on the same day. And even though we have a hectic schedule, I’m doing my very best to do my homework and projects as soon as possible because every day I have house chores to do. But it’s okay because it can help me in the future. (JCP, 19)
Having an unstable internet connection and not having a conducive learning environment have negatively affected my academic performance. However, . . . I was able to spend a lot of time with my family. I really hope that face-to-face classes will be back next school year. (JOD Jr, 20)
In this new modality of education, learning something is out of the question and instead, based on my experience, is just a continuous game of ‘beating the deadlines’. I do appreciate the efforts and great lengths that some of my instructors did just to make us students really get what they are teaching. But even with their help, still, it is up to me to absorb what they want to relay, which is where I fail most of the time.
This takes me to this point, wherein complying is what I only do, just to achieve my desired goal. (ACP, 17)
Radiation literally hurts my eyes especially when we have straight classes, and honestly, sometimes the internet connection will suddenly stop from time to time during classes.
(FMM, 20) For me, the most challenging part of this learning system is to have to grasp most of the lessons/lectures given by our teachers by myself because we get to meet once a week . . . I expect that I get to go with the flow in the class and learn a lot of things despite the struggles of this online learning system. (Eubert Russel Pagas, 19, Don Carlos)
Sometimes, I can only sleep for a few hours as I need to finish multiple assignments before another batch of requirements will be added. I have to overwork myself and it’s super draining like I have to break down mentally. Sometimes I just have to cry to release my mixed-up mind and emotions. But the good thing is that I have learned so much this school year and yielded good grades in the first semester. I also experienced good things with my classmates which made some of them my best friends. I also experienced the power of technology nowadays that even in distance with the people, communication and building relationships with people have been made possible. (JB, 17)
