A Day in the Life...of a COVID Student
Student survey reveals decline in mental health.
By: Rachel B Mannix, reporter
Student survey reveals decline in mental health.
By: Rachel B Mannix, reporter
Overview
A little over a month ago, an anonymous survey was sent to the student body of Queensbury High School. Gathering student input is extremely important, especially in these challenging times. In the survey, questions were asked regarding social/emotional health, learning and safety during COVID. Out of the 131 respondents, 76.3% were hybrid, while 23.7% were all-virtual. This survey was taken before students began returning full time. Additionally, the majority of respondents were juniors (32.1%), followed by sophomores (28.2%), seniors (23.7%), and freshmen (16%).
Social/Emotional Health
In the Social/Emotional Health section, the first question I asked was open-response about how students perceive the effects COVID has had on their social life. The vast majority of responses indicated that students’ social lives have been dramatically impacted, with many saying that they “don’t really hangout with people much anymore.” Many also claim that it is far more difficult now to see friends or find anything to do with the COVID restrictions. However, 61.8% of respondents stated that they have participated or are participating in extracurricular activities this year. The final question in this section was a checkbox answer about mental health. Respondents could then select the options that they felt applied to them. The two that were responded to the most were “I feel stressed” (76.3%) and “I have trouble focusing on schoolwork” (75.6%). This indicates that students might be struggling with their schoolwork and in school, due to the stress and trouble focusing. Additionally, a significant amount of students claim to feel disconnected, isolated, depressed, anxious, and report to have irregular sleeping and eating patterns. This indicates a strong decline in mental health because so many students appear to be struggling at this time. It may be a good idea to look into programs (like the ADK Wellness Project) to help this issue, especially when the students may not be able to be involved in extracurriculars or see friends due to COVID.
Learning
The next section pertains to learning during COVID. The first few questions of this section solely pertained to students’ perception of their classes (their difficulty, grades, etc.). More than 70% of students believe that learning is harder this year and that it’s easier to learn in person. Additionally, most students report that they have more work this year and are doing worse, while 35% of students surveyed noted that they are doing “about the same” Additionally, many students believe that being online can offer some unfair advantages, but they also can get individual support when needed. Finally, over half (56.5%) of respondents do believe that online learning should remain an option (in some capacity) in future years.
Some respondents chose to include some additional comments, some of which read like the one below, expressing concern over Regents exams, standardized testing and difficulties learning with the hybrid schedule.
“I know the school doesn't have any control over this but I feel like going forward with regents tests this year is totally unnecessary and detrimental. Covid has created so many learning gaps and put so much stress on everyone that make it so unfair for students to have to take the tests. Online learning has only amplified this effect because it's very hard to concentrate at home and the chromebooks just can't handle being on a meeting and doing work at the same time. My grades are much worse than years prior and I have not learned anything.”
Additionally, some other responses indicated students’ discontent with being on screens for long periods of time and having a lot more work than usual.
Building Safety
Overall, when asked about how safe they feel when at school, in lunch and during sports or extracurricular activities, most students (between 45-50%) responded that they feel safe, or very safe, during school. Additionally, 67.9% of students stated that students in the building wear their masks correctly more often than not and 63.4% indicated that they do not need the windows open to feel safe. There were some students (29.8%) who wished to have mask breaks, but over half did not want them. Many students (51.9%) also feel that students and staff should be regularly tested for COVID.
The final question was about a time in which students think that the school should go fully virtual. Many indicated that there should be a certain number of cases at which the school shuts down and some even stated that the school should have already been closed, despite the majority feeling safe at school. Although, there were several students who did say that they do not know of a time when the school should shut down.
Analysis
Although a relatively small portion of the entire student body of the high school responded to this survey, it is encouraging that over 10% did. It shows that students do care about what happens in the high school, especially when it could have negative impacts. What is the most concerning is the low mental health reported by most students. Only 7.6% report to have unaffected mental health. This is too low of a number because mental health is just as important as physical health. It is imperative that these levels lower so that students are able to accomplish tasks like schoolwork much easier. I also think that the lack of a social life reported by the vast majority is worrisome because teenagers need social contact. It is also a possibility that the lack of social experiences could be linked to the low mental health.
As for the learning section, many students do seem to feel overwhelmed with work this year. In fact, many stated that they find learning this year harder and that combined with the amount of work serves to lower grades. It also lowers the effectiveness of lessons because clearly the students are having trouble retaining the information. However, it is encouraging to see that students feel that they can get individual help when needed from teachers (around 77.9%). Finally, the fact that students perceive themselves to be safe when in the building is very good. This is because those students can now learn in person, which according to them, helps them learn much better. This will increase grades and even morale in the building. Although there might be times in which students would rather go fully virtual because of a rise in COVID cases, it is safe to say that many students are pleased with the school’s handling and allowance of in person learning.
Possible Solutions?
As of this moment, some of the issues that have been discussed are hard to fix because of COVID. Unfortunately, due to social distancing, getting together with friends is often quite difficult, so social lives are difficult to really have, at least in person, until summer, when people can be outside and be safely distanced. However, as students have been coming back full time, this will likely help with some of the learning issues mentioned. Mental health is one of the most important issues, but there are some tools out there to help. As mentioned before, the ADK Wellness Project, created by Julia Afsar-Keshmiri, is a great resource for anyone struggling. Online meditation videos (check out this playlist) and journaling are other good strategies to help cope with any mental health issues. Hopefully as more people get vaccinated life will become more normal, but as of right now it is important that everyone stay safe and healthy during these unpredictable times.
A little over a month ago, an anonymous survey was sent to the student body of Queensbury High School. Gathering student input is extremely important, especially in these challenging times. In the survey, questions were asked regarding social/emotional health, learning and safety during COVID. Out of the 131 respondents, 76.3% were hybrid, while 23.7% were all-virtual. This survey was taken before students began returning full time. Additionally, the majority of respondents were juniors (32.1%), followed by sophomores (28.2%), seniors (23.7%), and freshmen (16%).
Social/Emotional Health
In the Social/Emotional Health section, the first question I asked was open-response about how students perceive the effects COVID has had on their social life. The vast majority of responses indicated that students’ social lives have been dramatically impacted, with many saying that they “don’t really hangout with people much anymore.” Many also claim that it is far more difficult now to see friends or find anything to do with the COVID restrictions. However, 61.8% of respondents stated that they have participated or are participating in extracurricular activities this year. The final question in this section was a checkbox answer about mental health. Respondents could then select the options that they felt applied to them. The two that were responded to the most were “I feel stressed” (76.3%) and “I have trouble focusing on schoolwork” (75.6%). This indicates that students might be struggling with their schoolwork and in school, due to the stress and trouble focusing. Additionally, a significant amount of students claim to feel disconnected, isolated, depressed, anxious, and report to have irregular sleeping and eating patterns. This indicates a strong decline in mental health because so many students appear to be struggling at this time. It may be a good idea to look into programs (like the ADK Wellness Project) to help this issue, especially when the students may not be able to be involved in extracurriculars or see friends due to COVID.
Learning
The next section pertains to learning during COVID. The first few questions of this section solely pertained to students’ perception of their classes (their difficulty, grades, etc.). More than 70% of students believe that learning is harder this year and that it’s easier to learn in person. Additionally, most students report that they have more work this year and are doing worse, while 35% of students surveyed noted that they are doing “about the same” Additionally, many students believe that being online can offer some unfair advantages, but they also can get individual support when needed. Finally, over half (56.5%) of respondents do believe that online learning should remain an option (in some capacity) in future years.
Some respondents chose to include some additional comments, some of which read like the one below, expressing concern over Regents exams, standardized testing and difficulties learning with the hybrid schedule.
“I know the school doesn't have any control over this but I feel like going forward with regents tests this year is totally unnecessary and detrimental. Covid has created so many learning gaps and put so much stress on everyone that make it so unfair for students to have to take the tests. Online learning has only amplified this effect because it's very hard to concentrate at home and the chromebooks just can't handle being on a meeting and doing work at the same time. My grades are much worse than years prior and I have not learned anything.”
Additionally, some other responses indicated students’ discontent with being on screens for long periods of time and having a lot more work than usual.
Building Safety
Overall, when asked about how safe they feel when at school, in lunch and during sports or extracurricular activities, most students (between 45-50%) responded that they feel safe, or very safe, during school. Additionally, 67.9% of students stated that students in the building wear their masks correctly more often than not and 63.4% indicated that they do not need the windows open to feel safe. There were some students (29.8%) who wished to have mask breaks, but over half did not want them. Many students (51.9%) also feel that students and staff should be regularly tested for COVID.
The final question was about a time in which students think that the school should go fully virtual. Many indicated that there should be a certain number of cases at which the school shuts down and some even stated that the school should have already been closed, despite the majority feeling safe at school. Although, there were several students who did say that they do not know of a time when the school should shut down.
Analysis
Although a relatively small portion of the entire student body of the high school responded to this survey, it is encouraging that over 10% did. It shows that students do care about what happens in the high school, especially when it could have negative impacts. What is the most concerning is the low mental health reported by most students. Only 7.6% report to have unaffected mental health. This is too low of a number because mental health is just as important as physical health. It is imperative that these levels lower so that students are able to accomplish tasks like schoolwork much easier. I also think that the lack of a social life reported by the vast majority is worrisome because teenagers need social contact. It is also a possibility that the lack of social experiences could be linked to the low mental health.
As for the learning section, many students do seem to feel overwhelmed with work this year. In fact, many stated that they find learning this year harder and that combined with the amount of work serves to lower grades. It also lowers the effectiveness of lessons because clearly the students are having trouble retaining the information. However, it is encouraging to see that students feel that they can get individual help when needed from teachers (around 77.9%). Finally, the fact that students perceive themselves to be safe when in the building is very good. This is because those students can now learn in person, which according to them, helps them learn much better. This will increase grades and even morale in the building. Although there might be times in which students would rather go fully virtual because of a rise in COVID cases, it is safe to say that many students are pleased with the school’s handling and allowance of in person learning.
Possible Solutions?
As of this moment, some of the issues that have been discussed are hard to fix because of COVID. Unfortunately, due to social distancing, getting together with friends is often quite difficult, so social lives are difficult to really have, at least in person, until summer, when people can be outside and be safely distanced. However, as students have been coming back full time, this will likely help with some of the learning issues mentioned. Mental health is one of the most important issues, but there are some tools out there to help. As mentioned before, the ADK Wellness Project, created by Julia Afsar-Keshmiri, is a great resource for anyone struggling. Online meditation videos (check out this playlist) and journaling are other good strategies to help cope with any mental health issues. Hopefully as more people get vaccinated life will become more normal, but as of right now it is important that everyone stay safe and healthy during these unpredictable times.