Students Remote Learning Are Most Stressed

Students who have been remote learning, thanks to the ongoing pandemic, are in a 'sink or swim' situation.  As a parent, I have seen this first hand.  This is a situation where you have one student who is thriving on remote learning, while for another it is a challenge for them to connect with remote learning classes.

Governor Gretchen Whitmer has set March 1st as a goal for students in k-12 classes to return to in person classrooms, however the Governor did add that the state will not fine or penalize in any way schools that don't offer back to school learning then.

With more people getting the COVID -19 vaccine we are seeing numbers going down in Michigan.

  Stress in the home school room.

Dealing with learning during the pandemic is something we have never dealt with in the past.  A recent study shows that remote students are far more stressed that their peers who are learning in person at school.

  There is no question the pandemic has been hard on children, whether or not their schools have reopened.  A flood of research in recent months has found alarming spikes in depression and anxiety among not just children but their parents as well.  Students from low income families and those students with disabilities are learning less than they should.

Students in grades K-12 who are remote learning have been experiencing exhaustion, headaches, insomnia and other stress related ailments.  One teacher said that they think actually coming to school and getting dressed makes the students feel more like they have a purpose in life.

A principal at a New York school says that they feel for the kids during this COVID-19 pandemic.  Noting that many of her students have the added responsibility of caring for younger siblings while they are trying to learn remotely.   Many students are also dealing with the stress of parents who have lost their jobs or have lost a loved one to COVID-19.

The question of whether or not to return to in person learning at schools in Michigan has been something school districts across our state have been dealing with since the fall when COVID numbers were going up and many schools went to all remote learning for their students.  Many of those districts are back now and others plan to return in the coming weeks.