It's been nuts this year. Students are discovering that this is not what we imagined our educational environment to be, as we all continue to tackle the fall semester. And it's not a negative thing actually, it's just... odd. In high school and college, there are those of you who do 100% of your courses online. While scholars take priority, there is a social aspect that is a critical part of college life, and things are just not the same with this piece missing.
You should be assured that the governing bodies of our colleges have our best interests at heart, whether you're in high school, attending college for the first time, or are already an upper-classman. It is a temporary downside that actually serves the highest benefit if an online colleagues experience stays stable and joyful, as it were. But while we're trapped in this situation, here's some advice to keep educated, stay up in school, look to the future, and more.
Protocols to keep updated
It is a required but difficult job to monitor cases and secondary exposure to COVID-19 on college campuses. Symptoms can range from totally absent to blurry to life threatening. All open campuses have protocols in place, with the fundamentals of wearing masks, social distances and hand washing as the main means of protection. So far, there have been cases under surveillance on my campus, and there have been no mass spreads of the virus.
Much of the reason why certain schools have been so good in keeping their numbers down is because of the overall commitment of students and teachers to obey these procedures. If you're already on an open campus, do your best to keep up these activities while we step towards whatever COVID-19's next new stage might be. Teachers do a great job of keeping our classes secure. My professors adhere to strict COVID-19 guidelines, which ensures that students retain social distance, keep their class sizes minimal, and ensure that before and after each class, students sanitise surfaces. Teachers with a higher number of students in their classrooms often provide hybrid strategies to minimise risk of exposure.
Consistent communication
We are getting weekly e-mail reports at warning level of school, the alarm level of counties and the number of active campus events. When we have been in indirect touch with someone who has tested positive for COVID-19, other emails inform us, if we feel unwell, to check our wellbeing and alert authorities. We are supposed to get screened promptly and self-quarantine before we collect our results if we have come into close touch with someone who tested positive. If your school does not currently get emails or communications such as these, reach out and remain as aware as possible and request information from them.
Acceptance as the new standard for online academics for now
Online courses can be challenging, and when holiday holidays are removed from the campus schedule to allow for a shorter semester time period, school can become complicated. All begins to heat up, and many students experience the burnout of what feels like a semester that never stops. But there's an upside: multiple colleges, along with other benefits, provide tuition and housing assistance to keep students motivated, encouraged, and enrolled. Countless faculty members provide longer working hours to allow for the burden it can bring on someone's comprehension of their coursework by online learning.
It becomes a closely observe, while these gestures which appear obvious, just make sure you give as much as your school offers back to you and work hard in the classes you pay for. A college degree is the reward we seek at the end of our travels, and we will all be good if we keep working together, whether from home or on campus.
To survive in a bubble
Until now, I didn't know how many little items until the pandemic I took for granted. As we all wish for a pre-COVID-19 life, now everything is overwhelmingly different. There is a strong human desire for social contact. I miss sending my friends hugs, going to their homes, and dog-piling on the sofa to watch a bad movie. I enjoy seeing people's smiles and seeing their faces scrunch as they chuckle. I still miss a college experience when the only thing we had to think about was the midterm that we were painfully unprepared for. Colleges are always running, but the experience we had before is nowhere near that. Do not allow the sense of loneliness to make you forget all the innovative ways in which we communicated almost earlier this year – and can still do so. This pandemic has many lows and heights, but the most important thing is to make the best of whatever period we are in.
Think of the future
I have taken a semester off, part of me wishes, but the other part of me knows that this pandemic will not go away anytime soon, and I'm sure everyone else is thinking too. Hang in there if you are a college newbie. It's going to change! You've been hard at work and college life is different even without a pandemic for everybody. If you search for outlets and prospects that are beyond your control, you'll find your current position will work to your benefit. Because everybody this year will have an extended winter break, if your school allows it, take up an additional lesson. In your spring term, this will open up several hours to take a general education class that attracts you but does not actually lie within your major. Any academic adversity you can presently face is temporary, considering your long-term degree ambitions. Expanding your awareness would only work in your favour in the long term.
And if you are a senior in high school, don't lose heart. If you have the ability to keep your GPA at 3.0 or higher, even though it may not be needed for admission next fall, even though it may seem pointless. You will also need to send the last end-of-the-year transcripts from schools. Many of those who persevere will not only be honoured with the appreciation of a job well completed, but college scholarship money will most definitely be awarded.