After almost a year of quarantine because of the COVID-19 pandemic, schools have come up with new systems to make sure students are receiving quality education. With Distance Learning being technology-based, the quick switch from in-person to online school brought on a new set of challenges that students and teachers are still trying to adapt to. 

There are many circumstances of distance learning that can be an inconvenience to students and teachers. Technology, mental health, and family-related issues are all disadvantages that at-home education magnifies.  Mikaela Cruz,10, shares some of the struggles she faces that make distance learning more difficult. 

“I do not have my own personal desk,” Cruz said.  “So I have to move to the kitchen where other members of my family are doing their zooms as well and it can be distracting.”

Online learning also contributes to the lack of communication between teachers and their students. Haaji Hossain, 10, expresses what she wishes teachers took into consideration for their students. 

“There are countless students who are either just busy or having a hard time or at home right now, and sometimes we’re truly unable to do work. For a lot of us, our personal, family, and private life matters more than our school life, and that goes for everyone, not just students,” Hossain said. “So I wish teachers were just a little more understanding when it comes to why we sometimes do not do our work on time or lack enthusiasm” 

Difficulties with distance learning are not limited to students, and the struggles are similar to what teachers go through.  Mr. Armendariz, a history teacher at Downey High, voices his opinion on how distance learning has affected students and teachers alike.  

“I have a two-year-old kid, and he constantly wants to play, he constantly wants attention, and I want to give that attention to him, but obviously that’s not possible when teaching,” Armendariz said.  “The home life and the work-life combined into one has been difficult to untangle at times, and that affects my concentration, my productivity, and my mindset.” 

This topic being very important to him, Armendariz wrote an article for The Downey Patriot on the value of student voices during the pandemic back in December.  

Like any new skill, distance learning has to be learned and adapted to.  After almost a year in lockdown, the struggles that continue to come with learning from home show that it’s a slow process for everyone involved.