Description – What happened?
COVID-19 started as much less of a real threat and most people around the United States were not worried about the adverse effects of the disease. Many people across the country are today aware of the adverse effects of the disease as it has led to several deaths across various states. As a result of the pandemic, the routine changed that many people could not go about their daily activities such as going to work or school. The COVID-19 pandemic affected my normal classes; thus, it forced me to resort to online learning.
Feelings – How did you feel about it?
When the federal and state government gave directives for schools to be closed at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic to curb the spread of the coronavirus, I felt happy. I believed that it was a chance to spend time with my family members. Besides, I believed that it was a perfect time to share what I had been learning from my normal classes with my family members. Furthermore, I believed that being at home during the pandemic would enable me to help my siblings in doing their assignments.
Evaluation – What was Positive and/or Negative about the Experience?
My experience of being at home and attending online classes was enjoyable, though sometimes boring. My time at home was enjoyable because I was able to engage in various activities with my family members and learn new skills such as cooking. Besides, I was able to share what I had been learning from online classes with my family members. Furthermore, I had the opportunity to check on what my siblings had been learning and help them in their assignments. The positive aspect of attending online classes during the pandemic was that the teachers had been giving fewer assignments, unlike during normal school days. Thus, I had sufficient time to engage in various activities such as playing video games and exercise. However, my experience of being at home during the pandemic often became boring. By attending the online classes, I felt I had missed having aggressive physical interactions with my teachers and classmates. Another greatest challenge I experienced while being at home was that I got easily distracted by my siblings tend to make noise more often that I could not concentrate on the online classes.
Analysis – What Sense can you make of the Situation?
My experience of being at home and attending online classes had been of benefit and disadvantage to me. While at home, I have been able to learn new skills such as cooking. I was also able to engage with my parents in various activities such as cleaning the house, and storytelling. However, the disadvantage of attending online classes is that I lost a lot because I did get distracted by several factors such as noise from my younger siblings.
Action Plan – If it happened again, what would you do?
If the pandemic were to happen again and disrupt my school life, I would ensure that I eliminate factors that may affect my concentration in online classes. Besides, I would allocate less time for every other activity such as playing video games and engaging with my family members in a couple of activities so that I can concentrate on online learning. Furthermore, I would ensure that I learn other home chores that I might not be well conversant with.
Conclusion – What else could you have done?
Other than being at home, I could have volunteered to help in various community projects. This would have enabled me to interact with people in my neighborhood as I do not often get sufficient time to associate with them during normal school days. Besides, if there were no travel restrictions during the pandemic, I would have visited various places across the country such as zoos, aquaria, museums, and art galleries, as well as botanical gardens to learn new aspects.