For many families, 2020 was a year of virtual learning. Schools in Arkansas closed March 17, 2020. August 2020 saw most Arkansas schools re-opening for in-person learning although there were virtual options, and the situation remained that way through the end of the school year in June 2021.
Throughout the pandemic there have been concerns about remote learning. While many feared for the safety of teachers who might become infected, and students who might catch the virus and carry it home, others worried that students would fall behind in academics.
Mental health experts opined that irreparable social harm would be done by depriving children of their friends and activities, and social isolation would cause panic attacks and PTSD upon returning to school.
In Eureka Springs a mask mandate is in place for now. Aside from masks, what is different? How have kids fared? Are they socially damaged? What’s going on in the lives and minds of students today?
In a recent article of the Child Mind Institute, clinical psychologist Jennifer Louis, observed, “Kids are just really used to being home with their parents now. There is the added fear that other people are not as safe as we thought they were.” Is that true?
In a published statement, Mike Eaton, Chief of Safety for Denver Public Schools, said that fights are up 21 percent this fall from the fall of 2019, according to statistics shared publicly by the district. He said he doesn’t know for sure what is driving the increase but suspects staff shortages are playing a role.
Internet posts discuss how anxious masks are making the children. But are these experts in touch with the reality of the students themselves? Or are these speculations and projections based on professional or political bias?
A Google search seeking “Statements by students upon returning to school fall 2021” yielded 0 articles of 30 (from the first three pages of results) directly related to students’ statements. Rather, there were school and health organization statements, and statements and opinions from parents, teachers, and counselors. But nothing from the kids themselves.
In a phone interview, Alan Blotcky, PhD, a clinical psychologist in Birmingham, Ala., and a contributing writer at Salon, said, “Children are having a much easier time with mask wearing than their adults. Kids do not see them as limiting or restrictive in any way. They are comfortable with them. And they understand the need for them.
“I have not seen much diagnosable depression or anxiety from the pandemic [in children]. Lots of discomfort, tension, boredom, and apprehension.”
With parental permission, a phone interview was conducted with Hayle, a high school freshman in Dierks, Ark. “At the beginning, I thought the virus was over exaggerated,” Hayle said. “But once the whole world went on lockdown, I said oh, this is more serious than I thought.” She also remarked that “Meeting guys was weird because they could have beautiful eyes and then you’d see them on Snapchat, and they don’t have a mask on. Without the mask not so cute.”
And at least one published article did address the feelings of students. In a Salon column published September 19, 2021, author Gail Cornwall observed, “Face masks. Critical race theory. Bathrooms. Remote learning. Schools and schooling have become a flashpoint for America’s culture war — for adults. But in talking to adolescents across the country, I discovered that grown-up fears and fury are disconnected from students’ most pressing concerns.”
Ariana Lemus, a 16-year-old from San Mateo, Calif., said she feels like a pawn. “Most of the problems that adults are talking about, it’s a lot less important to us right now. They’re saying, ‘This is for the kids,’ but they’re not really listening to us kids.”
Bradshaw Cuff, Jr., of Bowie, Md., was concerned about how disconnected he started to feel. “The students are a good reason that I want to go to school, that I enjoy going to school. So when I didn’t really have social contact with all the students, I didn’t really feel like paying attention.”
Leah Schneyer-VanZile, an eighth grader from Arlington, Mass., also felt a sense of isolation during virtual learning. She had the option of hybrid learning but elected to stay home last year. Now, the 13-year-old said, “I can’t wait to just be in school and have real classes and have a binder.
“I couldn’t tell you a single thing about a bunch of my classmates, because they didn’t have their cameras on and they never talked. My friend who was in hybrid [learning] was talking to me about this guy who asked her for her Snapchat, and she was like, ‘His friend came up to me and whispered, because he was really nervous.’ I didn’t get any of that. I want to have a crush again.”