The Impact of Virtual Schooling

 Virtual Schooling became prominent during the recent years of the pandemic. It has affected students learning in a multitude of ways both positive and negative. According to the article How Does Virtual Learning Impact Students in Higher Education? by the Bay Atlantic University, the main advantage of virtual learning is that it, "enhances students’ perception, communication, educational quality, and critical thinking and creates a sense of student independence". Virtual learning is an efficient way of learning. Meaning that students can easily find their materials and their books with ease. Online school is also very accessible. Students and teachers can begin their classroom almost anywhere. Virtual learning has also proved to increase student's attendance because of how flexible it can be. There are also negatives to virtual learning. Some students have expressed the feeling of isolation with online school. Communicating through a screen is not the same as communicating face to face with people. Another con would be the amount of screen time the person is being exposed too. Some classes can last well over an hour and that can be a lot of screen time having multiple classes. There is also the undeniable instances of technology issues that can come up. Overall, there are positives and negatives to virtual learning.

Girl doing schoolwork sitting in front of a computer.

Personally, I have always enjoyed virtual learning. I am more on the shyer side and I tend to not be as outgoing as some people. Virtual learning helps me in this way because it relieves some of the pressure of having to socially interact with people right off the bat. I have also enjoyed it with how convenient it is. I am able to attend class wherever I choose. The only negative that has affected me would be that it has impacted my ability to make friends. My first two years of college were mostly online and I hindered in that area greatly. It was just hard to make a lot of friends and communicate with your peers like how you would in person.

Mental Health Awareness in Education

Mental health awareness in schools has become an important topic for educators. Educators being aware of their student's current mental health status is important. Teachers are able to acknowledge when one of their students are acting different or their behavior is slightly off. This is when the teachers capabilities come into play. Teachers have so many resources to get their students the help they deserve. An example of this would be Nancy Barile explaining one of her experiences with her student in her article The Importance of Mental Health Awareness in Schools. She goes onto to discuss how she noticed one of her student's behavior changing. Nancy had mental health training and was able to notice the signs of her student being in trouble. She was able to get in touch with social workers at her school and get the help her student needed. Her student was able to be treated and returned to school a few months later ready to continue learning. One in five people live with some sort of mental illness. Since students spend majority of their days in school, educators should hold themselves accountable for being an easily accessible resource for help for their students. Until the importance of mental health in schools becomes a mandatory thing, the only thing we can do now is continue to spread awareness. Eliminate the stigma and let our students know that it is okay to ask for help. 

Woman looking overwhelmed while doing
school work with her head in her hands.

I think that mental health is something that is just as important, if not more important than physical health. It should be talked about and advocated for more. People need to know that they are not alone. For some students, just having a teacher or a counselor letting them know that they are there for them could make a huge difference. Sometimes, people just need to feel heard and understood. Mental health awareness in schools will allow that to happen. Personally I witnessed and experienced some hardships during the time I was in high school. I never felt like I was able to talk to my counselor or my teacher whenever I wanted to about the things that were on my mind. I think that if students felt like they had that option, it would allow for many of them to feel like they are not alone. If teachers were able to be trained to know when their students are in distress, it could save lives. It could prevent their situations from worsening and allow them to get the treatment they need.