Four Steps to Conquering Today’s Academic Environment

A life-changing pandemic struck our world at the beginning of 2020 and is rapidly continuing into today. Our daily lives were effected by the threatening COVID-19 virus and now mental health has been declining quickly, especially for students worldwide.

As students struggle with isolation, virtual and hybrid classes, stress, and lack of motivation, they are fighting to find solutions. I recently asked some fellow Flucos this question: “What have been the two biggest stressors this year and how has it affected you in school?”

Many students responded that at-home learning makes it more difficult to learn due to distractions happening around them. One student described herself as “more stressed this year with turning in assignments, having a heavy workload, and not having good time management to make a schedule of when to get assignments finished.”

Overall, there seemed to be a common theme, namely, that the pandemic and isolation in general has caused many students to be overwhelmed. But here is some good news: There are ways to cope during this difficult time.

Stay Organized
Being (and remaining) organized can be tricky in a virtual environment, especially when millions of students out there are used to their teachers giving them a daily agenda on the white board during in-person learning. Their minds have been juggling how to keep track of all their assignments, while having other priorities such as jobs, sports, and extracurriculars.

“My hardest challenges this year were getting distracted during online classes and keeping up with assignments,” said sophomore Evelyn DeMers. “The ways that have helped me overcome those issues were switching to hybrid learning and using a planner to stay organized,” she added. So what advice she would give to others struggling with the same problems? “Try to stay organized and stay ahead of your assignments so you don’t fall behind. Doing hybrid definitely helps,” she said.

Minimize Distractions
Senior Delaney Hammond is one of many students who have found this year a battle to stay focused. “Normally we have separated, designated environments for schoolwork, sleep, and leisure. But since most of us are stuck at home, all of those things occur in the same place, which can be really overwhelming and confusing. It also doesn’t help that a lot of home distractions we used to be able to escape at school are now around us at all times,” Hammond said.

So how can we block out those distractions? It certainly isn’t easy to stay focused in a classroom, let alone in our houses, but it is not impossible. “I think the best way to overcome this is to find a specific spot in your house or room to complete work at. Our brains are incredibly associative, so if you try to do homework in the place where you normally sleep, you’re going to get tired no matter what,” said Hammond.

Self Care: The Key to Less Stress
FCHS counselor Kelly Hodgkins gave me a list of ways to cope with stress this school year. “I tell students that writing down their assignments in an agenda and carving out a schedule to attend class and complete assignments has been helpful in sticking to a routine. But self care is a priority,” she said. She recommends the following:

• get at least eight hours of sleep a night
• go outside every once in a while
• exercise
• connect with family and friends
• spend time with your pets
• engage in new, healthy hobbies

Stay Positive and Don’t Give Up
“Corona has been the number one stressor [for me] because of everything it has affected. I just tell myself ‘it is what it is’ because there’s not much I can do about it,” said sophomore Peyton Marshall. “If I had to give advice it would be to always look on the bright side because there’s a way through everything,” she added. Her advice is something we could all use right now.

As students, we’ve learned in our History classes about the horrible pandemics of the past, but none of us ever expected to be living in one. COVID-19 has lifted a stormy cloud over every human being. Lives have been lost, mental health has declined, our “normal” daily lives have been put on hold, and we’ve all been isolated in a quarantine while we wait for the storm to pass.

However, there is always hope and positivity, even during our roughest times. We look around at what our world has become and it’s the sight of life happening. Unfair, malicious, and confusing, yet there is still a light shining through somewhere. No matter how strong this virus is and how long we have to fight it, hope is the one thing that we don’t have to lose. So keep your mindset as positive as possible, and remember, at some point it will get better.