By Michelle Willson, Feature and Entertainment Editor
We are currently living through times that will be written about in history. It is an epidemic that has swept across the globe with great speed. Many are sick and some have died. School is online, jobs are cancelled. We have full days of free time. So, what do you have to show for it? New Hobbies? Are you exercising more? Getting all your homework done and cleaning the house? No? Wow, so you are just wasting all this time. That’s okay.
I am normally not one to say how I feel or to admit defeat, but I am tired. I have no reason to be tired because I am stuck at home not doing anything but watching TV and taking naps, but I am still physically exhausted.
I was doing great when the school first went to online coursework. I love online classes and I am normally really good at them, but those feelings passed after the first week. I constantly feel like I am behind, but I am not motivated to catch up. I told myself I am just lazy, and I just need to get my stuff together, but the more I talk about it the less I want to do it.
I have spoken to many other students that feel the same way. Everything is going so fast. We do not know what day it is, when things are due, or why we feel the way we do at this point. We are just counting the assignments that we have missed hoping that our grade will end up high enough to take a pass.
I came across a Facebook post shared by Dr. Dominique S. Hammonds Assistant Professor, Testing Coordinator in the Department of Human Development and Psychological Counseling at Appalachian State University about Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. It shows that we are stuck in the safety section of the pyramid so we cannot focus on anything higher than it. What is higher than that? Self-esteem and self-actualization, which include higher order thinking skills; those required to complete college-level assignments. There is a reason that we all feel so tired and scatterbrained.
We are grasping to control what we perceive to be controllable because so much is unpredictable right now. We are trying to take care of ourselves but that even feels to difficult at times.
The post gave me a sense of relief because it proves that there is a reason for these fears and everyone is feeling the same way, but it is not enough to just know that. Nothing is stopping the homework that just keeps rolling in. I cannot be the only one wondering why my classes got harder when they went online. There is more homework, more quizzes, and more due dates to keep track of.
One of my classes is having a two-hour video chat where we will take our final as an oral exam one-on-one with our teacher asking the questions. At this point, I am so stressed about this final that I cannot do anything else and that final is still 2 weeks away.
I know that teachers feel the same way that students do. This situation was thrown at them the same way that it was thrown at us. They are all dealing with this unprecedented situation with the coping strategies that work best for them. So why cannot we meet in a common ground and decide that finals might be easier and maybe a little shorter because of the situation that we are in? Deadlines a little flexible but still reasonable? Communication is so important right now everyone is lost and maybe students need a couple more reminders about big upcoming assignments that will make or break their grade.
This is a plea to teachers. Please help your students! If they are missing their assignments lately check up on them! It is a hard time for all of us.