4 years after school went remote due to COVID-19, memories of online learning are mostly negative among students and faculty

March 28, 2024

By Jocelyn Torres
Staff Writer

Four years ago, amid the COVID-19 pandemic, schools across the country had to pivot to online education. While in-person schooling has, for the most part, returned to the way it was before the pandemic, students and faculty still reflect on and remember the challenges presented during online learning. 

Sophomore Emily Salazar said in the early stages of the pandemic when she was learning from home, she noticed negative changes within herself.

“During the early stages of the pandemic, my physical health and mental health began to worsen due to social distancing and having to quarantine. I wasn’t able to see my friends as often and couldn’t go outside much due to fear of contracting the virus,” Salazar said.

Salazar’s experiences mirror the findings of research conducted in 2021 by the National Library of Medicine, which reported that people attending online school struggle more mentally than those who attend school in person.

Salazar said she had trouble focusing when learning from home.

“While I was in my room learning, things were happening in the background that made it hard to concentrate. Sometimes when I tried to connect to Zoom, I [couldn’t] get to the class due to Wi-Fi issues. Due to the lack of internet, the teachers’ audio would become poor, making it hard to hear what they were saying,” Salazar said.

Junior Jesus Mota said even though online learning had its flaws, he enjoyed it more than he expected he would.

“It was good because I stayed home, [but] it was bad because I couldn’t focus properly,” Mota said.

While some students struggled with muscle problems and eye strain due to lack of physical activity and prolonged periods staring at a screen, Mota said he kept up with his physical health during online school. 

“I stayed active by doing push-ups or riding my bike after school with my friends,” Mota said.

Chemistry teacher Mr. DeVito said he maintained his physical health by working out and swimming laps. He said remaining focused was not a problem when he was teaching online because he had adequate space in his home.

“While I was in my room learning, things were happening in the background that made it hard to concentrate.”

“I was very lucky that [my wife and I] bought a house right before the pandemic hit. If I was in a cramped little apartment, then, yes, that could have been an issue,” DeVito said.

He said in-person schooling is more effective than online education. He said he missed teaching in a classroom and felt there were no educational benefits to virtual learning.

“Virtual class was awful,” DeVito said. “None of the kids paid attention. They were just watching Netflix. It was completely pointless.” 

History teacher Mr. Tessalone said he was not worried about transitioning into online learning.

“[I had] some nerves, but ultimately, I was excited about it,” Tessalone said. “[The administration] set us up to do it with Zoom, which was very user-friendly.”

Tessalone said he managed his mental and physical health by running to clear his mind and doing cardio. 

He said one challenge of teaching from home was finding the space to work. 

“My wife also work[s] from home. She got the office, [and] I got a laptop on top of a plastic box on the kitchen table,” Tessalone said. 

He said his biggest struggle was keeping the students engaged, but he said it was not too difficult because he had good students. 

“They generally respected the rules of the Zoom. For the most part… many were on camera,” Tessalone said.

He said the biggest loss he noticed was the socialization aspects of school.

“For many kids, socialization during online learning would not be difficult. They would continue to meet up with friends,” Tessalone said. “For some students, this would be much more difficult and could lead to social isolation.”

Although there are challenges, Tessalone said there are benefits to online learning.

“Students will most likely take hybrid or online classes in college or after, so they would be getting some more practice in being 21st century learners. Online learning can also open up more opportunities for students to study additional subjects or topics not offered in a standard high school curriculum,” said Tessalone.