Year 12 students share thoughts on home-based learning during global pandemic
Three year 12 students share their thoughts on home-based learning and completing their final year of school during a global pandemic.
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TODAY marks the start of at least five weeks of home-based learning for most students across Queensland.
A lot of parents have expressed concerns and a lot of experts and politicians have tried to allay them.
But what about the students? Three Year 12 school captains from Brisbane share their thoughts on home-based learning and how they feel about completing their final year of school during a global pandemic.
AMY KUBLER – SANDGATE DISTRICT STATE HIGH SCHOOL
Although it’s upsetting that our last year of school has been disrupted, it doesn’t seem to be as much of an issue (for me at least) considering the impact coronavirus is having on so many people – there are bigger problems.
I am sitting on the fence about home learning – it shouldn’t be too difficult however I am concerned about having less contact with teachers in certain subjects.
I’m really motivated to make home learning work as my grades are important to me, however being in an environment where I can be easily distracted might make it a bit more difficult.
I think most of my friends will cope fine with home learning. We’ve talked about what it might look like and everyone seems to have the same concerns about speaking with certain teachers and how it may be difficult to teach ourselves content. However, we can always talk to each other online to figure things out.
I haven’t organised a study plan yet as I’m not sure when my online classes will be. I’m waiting for more information from my teachers and the school.
My plan after year 12 is to attend university – I would like to be accepted into the Queensland Conservatorium.
I’m not overly concerned about my ATAR score as it won’t affect my post year 12 goal; acceptance into the university I want to attend is audition based. I would still like to get a high ATAR, but it’s not stressing me if I don’t.
The thing I’ll miss most about not going to school is definitely my friends. We are such a close group and they are all extraordinary people who always have each other’s backs. We love being together so I think the hardest part will be not seeing them every day.
I’m not worried about not having a formal as such because I’ve spoken to the principal and other administration staff who all guarantee we will get a formal at some stage – I am concerned however about when that might be. We all hope that the formal is this year and not postponed until 2021.
Overall, I feel okay about the coronavirus pandemic – as long as everyone follows the rules and practices good hygiene there’s nothing to be stressed about at this stage. The most important thing is keeping each other safe.
CAITLIN WASMUND LOUGHNAN – ST RITA’S COLLEGE CLAYFIELD
There are a lot of challenges that come with year 12 – study, stress, responsibility and dramatic life changes, but no one could have expected just how great the challenges would be.
A lot of people (understandably) feel a bit hard done by, as they feel that the parts of being a senior that we looked forward to have been taken away, and the things that were already worrying (like the uncertainty of the new ATAR system) have been amplified. However, there is a general acceptance that we have a responsibility as the senior class to remain enthusiastic and set a good positive example for our younger peers.
Schools are doing everything they can to help their students with online learning, but unfortunately there are some things school environments provide that simply cannot be replicated at home.
For example, in a regular school day your learning is broken up by moving between classes, lunch breaks with friends and even in-class discussions, but this is not occurring at home – lunch breaks simply involve walking to the kitchen, and ‘talking to your friends’ just means more screen time after hours at the computer, which can be very mentally and emotionally exhausting, while also limiting your physical activity.
Finally, it is much harder to differentiate between learning and study. It’s hard to explain, but when the school day is over, there is usually half an hour to an hour where students go home, change their clothes, eat and then begin studying, which is done alone and involves less discussion.
I personally find it very difficult to continue studying for three hours after the normal six hour classes at the same desk in the same place, even after taking a break.
I hope I will be able to develop a routine similar to the normal one which balances school, downtime, exercise and socialising, and I will do my best to keep myself and the school community connected during the home-based learning period.
I have spoken to most of my friends about online learning and have seen very mixed reactions. Some people will find the change refreshing and enjoyable for them as it fits well with their most productive learning environments, and others will really struggle to motivate themselves.
I worry for the mental health of students who aren’t getting enough exercise or talking to friends and family enough, and I hope that our school community will continue to engage with each other in as many ways as we can.
Year 12 learning is very uncertain at the moment and I am waiting for announcements about how our study will go ahead with the cancelled assessments before working on a study plan for all of my subjects. However, I have continued to revise for maths as I know that the content I am learning will be covered on the external exam in some way and don’t want to fall behind.
I definitely want to continue study at a tertiary level but am not completely sure how entrance will be effected by the current situation. I was quite upset about the cancellation of a lot of IA3 (internal) assessments, because I was looking forward to them and a lot of them were testing my best skills that I was definitely relying on to achieve the ATAR I want.
I am now re-evaluating whether I will need to consider other study options as I don’t believe I will get in to my goal courses if the value of the IA1 and IA2 assessments are increased. However, I am fully aware it was necessary to cancel these assessments due to equity issues for all Queensland schools and will try my best regardless.
I definitely miss my classmates and the crucial social aspect of learning, but I am also very sad about the cancellation of a lot of our school events, as I would have organised them as the School Captain.
Despite the challenges and impacts of coronavirus on my life, I am very lucky to be living in Australia, to be going to a school that has the resources for online learning, and that all my family is healthy and safe. I truly hope that others affected more significantly than myself in any way, whether that be loss of work, loss of a loved one or contracting the virus themselves, will be supported by their friends, families, workplaces and governments.
SAMUEL HUDSON – WAVELL STATE HIGH SCHOOL
We only actually experienced disruptions for the last few weeks of school, with activities and events slowly closing and obviously the last scheduled school week at home with pupil-free days. But being our last year we would love to have spent those days, and as many as there are to come, together at school.
So hopefully we can get back to school and the regular regimen without too much of our last year disrupted but, at the end of the day, everyone’s health is more important.
Home-based learning is a relatively new experience for most of us so I am slightly unsure of what to expect from the whole picture. There is plenty of direction and support regarding home-based learning coming from teachers and school staff.
In unison with the self-motivated hours I tend to spend outside school time and on weekends, some techniques involved with home-based learning should come instinctively to me, so thankfully I am not starting from square one with this.
Home-based learning is definitely something I’m willing to put the effort into as there are really quite valuable skills I could see developing/improving (ie time management, self-motivation, email etiquette, confidence to ask for assistance etc). Although it may take more drive than if we were at school, because school for me is a productive environment and I get through a lot of work.
Ultimately, though, I am aiming for my best result, so I along with others will all need to make it work, which is why we have just got to give it our best shot.
That is all my friends seem to be talking about. It is interesting, and sometimes funny, to hear a friend’s different perspective and their takes on our situation but, frankly, we all understand that it is what it is. Collectively we are there for each other and just ready to keep on learning. We will pull each other through like we have done many a time before.
At the moment we’ve been directed to platforms like OneNote and SharePoint, which outline in detail our necessary work in two-week block chunks. Ensuring the work is complete by specified dates, I see it as more flexible for learning (ie if we are in a maths mood, we can sit there for hours and eat our maths hearts out; or can maintain a structured timetable layout from school ensuring all work is completed).
University would be the ultimate goal in my educational pathway. In regards to professional career, though, I am not completely fixed to a career pathway. Medicine, biology and geography interest me at the moment.
Due to my ambitions of studying at university, I am working towards the highest ATAR score I can achieve, along with many other students across the state. The QCAA is continuing to communicate important information regarding their efforts to assess a wide range of scenarios to us all, so I am not overly concerned.
I believe that it would be best to just concentrate on continuing to do our bit as students the best we can; keeping calm and carrying on.
What will I miss the most about not going to school? Events and friends! We have such a vast array of events going on, and even though it stands as five weeks of home-based learning, there is a ridiculous amount of events we cannot do together as we usually would have.
However, there are plenty of innovative ideas whizzing around in the leadership groups, to get the school community involved and to acknowledge these events, so hopefully we could bring a few to fruition. And friends, simply because spending time with them in a stressful year like this makes it so much easier and enjoyable. So even though we cannot banter at lunch or kick around a soccer ball, we are still making an effort to catch up together online.
Formal is obviously, a major event for many year 12 students and speculation about its occurrence has been simmering. We discussed this in one of our later leadership meetings and since a majority look forward to this event we will try to acknowledge the event in some way if it does not occur. I would like to have a formal, but it is toward the end of the year at the moment so I am not too worried.
I have a mixed bag of emotions about the coronavirus pandemic. It is devastating to hear of the masses suffering and dying from this virus and I am worrying about my grandparents who live overseas. However, we (my family and I) frequently contact them and they are still remaining positive and are having a laugh with us which is great to see.
I really do think it is important just to hang in there together and stay positive because it is not forever, and there are definitely families in situations worse off than mine.
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