Final
Through my research, interviews, and self-reflection, I have concluded that COVID-19’s impact on higher education is very complicated. The impacts of the pandemic are multifaceted. The varying realities of students’ lives can drastically impact how they handle the pandemic and school. It is a situation in which economic class is the most significant factor in deciding what the pandemic means for students. To be faced with the truth of their reality while seeing the realities of others can only be overwhelming. For educators, witnessing their students’ lives will also affect them, on top of their own. Again, I must say, the COVID-19 pandemic means different things for different people.
Research conducted by Tanya Rouleau Whitworth et al. surveyed approximately 399 law students consistently throughout Fall 2019 (before the pandemic) to late March 2020 (commence of major shutdowns). Their data measure students’ opinion on fatalism, perceived faculty supportiveness, school satisfaction, school stress, and sense of school community. They concluded with,
While this data does not include up to the current time, December 2020, it would falsely imply that the pandemic’s impact on student life was simply a bump on the road. Many characteristics differ between undergraduate and postgraduate students. Regardless, the pandemic, back in March, had only begun to be something with the capacity to affect. As time continued and COVID-19 cases increased, this capacity to affect grew larger and larger.
The Fall 2020 semester has been one of the hardest for many.
Andrea Fernandez is a first-generation college student who attends Community College of Philadelphia. She is currently living with her parents and rarely leaves the house. Fernandez’s parents do not want her working as it could jeopardize their health, and they would rather have her focus on school. It is Fernandez’s first semester in college as she graduated from high school in June 2020. Her experience, finishing her senior year, was very calm. When asked about the transitions online, she spoke about the transition in high school as easy because lectures were not required, and no major work was left. She considered her summer break to have started in March, making her transition to college online challenging. Her five classes this semester were all asynchronous, so she had to figure out how to manage her time independently. The responsibility of time management was her biggest challenge; she got used to not working or studying. During the second to the final week of college, she has had to be very organized with her school work because it is also the week she has to attend church daily for her religion. Apart from the added stress, she feels proud of organizing her time wisely; she hopes to take this on to the next semester. One of the things that surprised her was that even though the semester had much stress, she now has gained valuable information on the online learning experience. She said,
I had many misconceptions about actual online learning, so I do not think I would have ever thought to take online classes.
Fernandez went on to say that she could see if managed correctly, how online learning could help lighten her overall schedule. She expressed gratefulness for her professors. They have gone above and beyond to ensure her success. She even mentions how one of her professors would have reached out to her directly if he had her phone number. They communicated mostly through email; regardless, he would always be very responsive to any questions she had. She also said that all of her professors emphasized their willingness to help the students. It is something that surprised her because they would reiterate that point multiple times during the semester. Most of her professors extended deadlines for finals and encouraged communications for further assistance, which made her feel very included. As a freshman, she does feel a loss of the traditional college experience. She told a story of meeting friendly people when she went to CCP’s bookstore. She lamented similar missed opportunities that the traditional college experience would have given her. She also lamented the loss of networking with her teachers. She feels that even though they have been amazing, the lack of personal communication has weakened the bond and opportunities they could have offered. When asked about making friends, she laughed and said that she had not made any new friends.
Linda Gutierrez is also a first-generation college student. She currently lives with a roommate, but her parents help her pay rent by employing her. Guitierrez watches over her younger brother while her parents work from 8 am to 3 pm during the weekdays. She would have been in her senior year as a biology major at Wilmington University. However, the personal situations that arose in her life pushed her back a year. Now with the pandemic, Gutierrez believes another semester will be delayed. She had to become a part-time student because her classes would have required in-person meetings, and she did not want to put anyone at risk. Gutierrez usually travels from Philadelphia to Wilmington. Another thing she had to give up was her volunteer work. When asked about any opportunities resulting from the pandemic she said, her family’s bond grew substantially. Gutierrez also mentioned having more time to try and focus on her overall happiness. I have to say that when speaking about this, she expressed feelings of guilt and privilege because she knows that many people are struggling. However, I do not think she gives her struggles enough credit. Apart from watching over her younger brother during the week, Gutierrez is responsible for all the paperwork regarding her family’s decision to move houses. She has had to spend extra time learning about the buying process to ensure her family chooses the right house and does not get taken advantage of. Even so, many complications have come up. She also mentioned,
Before, I did not have any health anxieties, but because of the COVID-19 pandemic, I now have these new health anxieties and all the information is overwhelming.
Keeping the motivation to stay engaged during her classes has been challenging. Gutierrez chose to take classes focussing on her Business minor and expressed how easy it is to get distracted. She is used to teaching herself, so she finds the lectures pointless.
In the article written by Nicole Gonzalez Van Cleve, she discusses how compassion is now needed more than ever within professors. She calls this compassion “radical”, as she stated,
Much like Fernandez, in my personal experience this semester, most of my classes were successful because of the professors’ compassion. The compassion they showed encouraged a desire to learn. In my opinion, the focus on being compassionate shifted the focus of only worrying about the grade. My logic followed as; if they are putting in all this effort to ensure my success, the least I can do in return is learn. Compassion is a varying factor within professors. Her professors were somewhere in between for Gutierrez, making her see her classes like before, grade focussed. For Fernandez, her professors exuded compassion, making her want to succeed, and using her resources. I had one professor exhibit more frustration than compassion, which altered my attitude towards the class. That class felt grade focussed, unlike the rest of my classes.
Motivation is another element that had to take the spotlight. Fernandez also mentioned the constant seeking for motivation to get her work done. Her family, much like mine, is investing a great deal into her higher education. Our family’s investment was a constant source of motivation this semester. Being surrounded by them all the time also reminded us of what is at stake. I also have to mention, it not all motivation. Fernandez has two younger sisters who are also doing online school. I have a younger brother and a mother who is a few months into remission from breast cancer. Having the family around your same learning environment can take its toll. When you need silence, the family is around the corner, making noise while playing, cleaning, or watching TV. Unexpected emergencies also interfere with the learning experience. These factors and many more can make it so much harder to be fully engaged in your education. Having professors exhibit compassion can anchor students to try to be more engaged. As Van Cleve stated,
Rather than earning a grade (or my approval), I urged them to learn for themselves and each other.
It is these types of classes that shift pressure from grades to learning. When I focus on learning, the other stresses become secondary. When I focus on merely getting good grades, all the other stresses appear. As a result of the pandemic, I have stressed about family safety, online learning, and time management. There are general stresses about tuition payments, future financial aid, using what I learn, my family, the country, and many more things. During my time journaling my COVID-19 education experience, I noticed worrying about all my stresses when doing work for the class, which lacked compassion. I emphasized due dates, reaching word limits, and addressing everything the professor wanted because I knew no wiggle room would be given. Those stresses would trigger other stresses about financial burdens, which would trigger other stresses, and the cycle would continue. I noticed feeling excited and passionate when doing work for the classes, which generally showed compassion. I would often continue writing about what I learned and how I felt about it. I would also note talking to people about my opinions and share facts.
Having cameras be optional for most of my classes made the possible disparities less noticeable. However, I remember noticing someone’s square on Zoom at the beginning of the semester. The person had picked up their laptop and walked around their house to another room that was presumably a study. I remember thinking how nice it must be to have space, away from the noise, to study peacefully. Like Isabel Canning and Tatiana Lathion from Nicholas Casey’s article, disparities in students’ realities are becoming noticeable for professors. Professor Isaacs from the same article said,
While no one I interviewed, or myslef, is affected negatively as Lathion or some of Professor Isaacs’ students, they still exist. The financial burden that COVID-19 has imposed on many families, especially those with small businesses like the Lathion family, is overwhelming. For families like Fernandez’s and my own, if the pandemic continues to restrict us, we will begin to feel even more financial burdens. All of the students that I interviewed, including myself, are children of immigrants. Our parents, specifically our fathers, are lucky to continue working in order to support us. However, the moments their jobs are taken away because of health reasons or financial problems with their employers, we will at a moment’s notice be in question of continuing our education. For students, like those in the Hungry to Learn documentary from Soledad O’Brien Productions, food and housing insecurities will have to be prioritized before school to ensure their survival. Those at the bottom will be the ones who suffer the most, resulting in dropping out or staying in school only to suffer more.
Fernandez, Gutierrez, and I all agree that the higher education system was transparent in prioritizing financial gain over student interest this Fall 2020 semester. Going forward, Gutierrez and I see an increase in stress and depression among students. Despite her efforts, Gutierrez has become Vitamin D deficient, which can increase the probability of depression. In preparation, I have begun taking Vitamin D supplements. Fernandez, Gutierrez, and I agree that we see online asynchronous classes and hybrid classes taking popular shape when schools open up again. Going forward, I can only hope, as Van Cleve said, we all learn from the pandemic and each other. I hope professors turn to each other for support and continue trying to impact their students’ lives positively. As discussed, compassion needs to be at the forefront of teaching. Not every student is comfortable sharing their personal lives. The struggles that students are facing are varied and could be marginalized if compassion is not exhibited.
