I think that by now everybody knows we’re in the middle of a global pandemic. This affects everyone from a baby to a granny. Children can’t go to daycare, students can’t go to school, adults mainly work from home and elderly are strictly advised to stay indoors. Many of us may be concerned about our grandparents and their wellbeing, but luckily we have people who have promised to go shopping for them. But remember that the elderly aren’t the only ones who may be infected. 

In many countries we are fortunate enough to have the possibility to work and study from home. At the moment students from all over the world have been studying from home by themselves, some a little longer than others. Self-studying is an important skill and teaches us many ways to learn. The only necessity for studying at home is a computer or a laptop. Many students may also have their school books with them, and notes are written to a notebook. Selfstudying is a tricky thing, because every country, every school and every teacher has their own way of approaching this situation. But all in all studying happens mostly online, so it’s important to have some IT-skills. Even if you didn’t have them, you’ll learn them quickly as you start studying. 

In our school, Google Classroom is probably the most used tool for students. Other tools include Google Docs, Google Meet and apps like Wilma (a web interface for student administration programs). In our school we have our daily schedules online in Google Gocs, which can be accessed through Wilma. Every class has their own schedule, where teachers will write what students will do for the period. The studying materials are usually at Classroom, other than that, they can be found in Wilma. New things are either read from books or taught through Google Meet. School assignments are usually made by teachers in Google Docs and students will answer the questions there. The due day for the assignments can be seen next to the assignment.

Everyone studies according to their own level. Studying has split opinions due to some people feeling overworked and other feeling the need for extra assignments. But that is the beauty of self studying, you can study according to your own needs and endurance. When others may feel like they have absolutely no time to do all the work, they can ask the teacher to reduce the amount of work. Others on the other hand manage to do the tasks quickly and can ask for extra work. This allows us to get to know ourselves more, know our limits and how we react to certain situations.

Subjects like home economics, P.E, handicrafts and music differ from theoretical subjects due to the way of teaching and learning. These subjects are learned in practise. Because students don’t have the facilities of school in hand, the teachers and students need to improvise. Home economics is studied at home and you get extra points for cooking. In P.E your job is to go out for a walk or a run and take pictures for proof. You can continue doing your handicrafts at home or do written assignments depending on if you have the facilities to continue your craft. If you have music as a part of your schedule you can get some instruments from school and learn a song, which you then record and send to your teacher. This proves that learning can be done at home as well, not just in school. But you have to make an effort to get things done.

Studying may be a lot different to what we are used to, but the situation is how it is. It also gives you new ideas for studying at home. Many schools, including high schools and universities have started to consider continuing selfstudying in the future as well. Studying at home also gives you an upper hand when heading to higher education, due to the importance of studying by yourself. If you happen to have difficulties with your studies, you can message a teacher or even arrange a meeting with them. You can also ask for help from a family member. 

Because of the situation many of us have spent more time with our family. Not seeing friends may be sad, but you can always message each other or have a meet online. Some people may feel triggered seeing their family members’ face 24/7, but it also brings us closer to each other. Parents have more time to spend with their kids and bake together for example. The virus has also taught us to respect nature. Many of us have started going for a walk on daily basis and nature trails are packed with people. Climate is starting to clear up due to the lack of car usage and transportation. Waters have cleared and are now full of fishes and animals are starting to inhabit areas where they once used to live. During these times it’s important not to be angry about all the things we lost, but to appreciate everything we have learnt.

Written by Meri Lepola 9C, Mäntynummi Comprehensive School, April 2020