Apathy among students

Photo provided by WSFCS wesbsite

Photo provided by WSFCS wesbsite

Lia Blackard, Online Editor

As COVID-19 has dragged on, decreasing mental health among students has become more evident. Many students find themselves more tired on a daily basis and struggle mentally to finish the overwhelming amount of assignments they have. 

My attitude towards school this year has been all over the place but mainly down because I don’t have the motivation to get up and do my work,” junior Madison Massey said. 

While some students have struggled staying motivated, Thomas Yates, a junior at RJR, has been able to maintain his attitude to succeed in school as he knows how important junior year is for going to college. However, virtual classes still have their challenges.

My attitude to succeed in school is the same as last year if not more since it’s my junior year but I do not enjoy school as much as I did last year,” Yates said. “[Virtual school] for me is much harder to keep up with every assignment I have and all the due dates when I’m not physically going to class.”

Massey and Yates both agree that they feel significantly more tired this year than in previous years of in-person learning. Many students may be feeling this as a result of staying in one place all day combined with lack of social interactions. 

College is right around the corner for many students. With in person school, it was easier for teachers and parents to know if their student was adequately prepared for higher education. However, students have become more lethargic and have struggled to learn more this year, leaving questions about if they are ready. Yates feels as though virtual school has helped him prepare. 

“I think [virtual school] has helped me in the fact that in college I’m going to be learning more independently so this is good practice but it makes me nervous that I’m not learning the content well enough,” Yates said. 

Massey has similar thoughts about her future at college.

“I feel [online learning] is helping me prepare for college because it’s teaching me how to be more independent,” Massey said. “I don’t feel I’m learning as much as I need to due to the fact that everything happens to be online.”

Although student apathy in the classroom has increased tremendously due to the pandemic, the release of COVID vaccines throughout the country gives students hope for the future.