I am one of the many college students who recently found out their semester will be finished online. Trust me, I agree with social distancing, quarantining, and any other measures being taken that will make myself and others safe. I am still allowed to be upset over this.
College students are not trying to be selfish, we are grieving.
To my college administration and professors, you are expecting us to complete coursework as we would if we were at school. However, you don't understand that when we are at school, our days are made much easier by being able to spend time with our friends. Coming back from class to my room that I share with five of my best friends is a much happier work environment than continuing to do work at the desk in my room where I just sat for the last three hours.
Sitting through a 50-minute zoom class feels unbearable at times because I end one class and log into the next immediately, as I have found my professors go over their time limit more often now. At school between classes, we are walking outside, passing our friends, and given the time we need to take a break from staring at a notebook or computer screen.
These breaks are an important factor in the ability to perform well in the classroom.
I do not want to sound like I am not appreciative of all my professors who have taken the time to learn the Zoom platform and rework their syllabus' in order to adjust to these new circumstances. None of us wanted it this way. I know that all my professors' time and effort are for the benefit and betterment of mine and my classmates learning.
The only thing I am asking is for students not to be expected to complete the same amount of work we would if we were at school.
Mentally, we are in a much different headspace than we were two weeks ago when we left for spring break, thinking we'd be back at school in a week. Our work is much more taxing when we are sitting, staring at a screen all day, trying to stay on top of our work, not being able to reward our hard work by sharing much needed time with friends. We have not been in online classes for a full week yet, however, I and my classmates that I have discussed this with feel like we are drowning and falling behind already.
It does not seem fair to hold us to the same grading standards as before even though we are now dealing with very unusual circumstances. If the way we are being taught is adjusted, the way we are graded should also be adjusted.
