Online Classes and Covid-19

 

Covid-19 has put many obstacles in peoples lives, and one of those obstacles includes getting an education. To follow the CDC's guidelines, mostly all education levels are having online classes, Pre-k to college, so on and so forth. I believe that an online education does not provide an equal opportunity for learning during Covid. Learning online is not the same as learning face-to-face. When you have the teacher or professor standing in front of you teaching, it makes it easier for one to learn, pay attention,  and obtain information; Whereas staring at a screen for a long period of time makes it much more difficult. I think there should be a hardship clause for students impacted by Covid if they were to fail a class. Many of us students did not sign up for online classes, we signed up for in-person classes, therefore this is a huge adjustment for us. At least for this first semester, I think there should be a hardship clause because students are trying to accommodate to this transition and it is not easy. It is a new style of learning that many of us didn't necessarily ask for. I believe that if one fails a class this semester, they should still be able to pass the class with a D, making it to where they can't fail but they aren't getting to much of a pass because their grade is still low. My experiences with online learning during Covid haven't been a smooth sail. Trying to focus on looking at a computer screen for 50 minutes plus is extremely difficult. There are so many distractions going on around me because I do most of my work from my dorm room. For example, my TV, my phone, food in the kitchen, etc. If I were in the classroom I wouldn't even have access to many of these distractions and most of the time professors don't allow you to use your phone during class, requiring more discipline with the phone distraction. Moreover, although many countries in Europe and Asia are still having face-to-face classes, I don't think that will make me less competitive in the job market because I still apply myself in my classes, as well as study and try hard.