Elementary Students Learning in the Midst of a Pandemic
As a high school junior, the coronavirus pandemic has greatly affected my learning
experience. However, many seem to forget that this pandemic not only affects high school
students, but also younger students who are in elementary school.
My brother, who is 10 years old and in the 4th grade, has had a difficult time transferring
to online learning. Now that in-person classes are no longer in session, teachers are having
class lectures on Zoom or Google Meet and posting assignments to Google Classroom. For a
kid who is just 10, using these online programs can be a struggle. I noticed that my brother
racked up 20 missing assignments in his Google Classroom, simply because he had no idea
that his teacher posted them at all and because he was unfamiliar with programs such as
Google Docs, Google Slides, and Kami. However, this issue is not unique to just him. While
attending class lectures on Zoom with him, I overheard his teacher complaining about how a
large number of students failed to turn in their assignments. To add on, a handful of students
don't even attend the class lectures due to either technical issues or simply not knowing about
them, causing them to miss hours of content. Apart from meetings on Zoom, which last
anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, my brother does not have much contact or
communication with his teacher. Without physical guidance from his teacher, he often has to
rely on me for help.
To conclude, this pandemic has had a great impact on all students alike, whether it be
high school students or elementary school students. This pandemic has definitely made my
learning experience difficult, but we should not forget that it has affected even the littlest of
people.

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