The Covid-19 pandemic struck our world in many more ways than one. While there were many negative outcomes of the pandemic, one prevalent to the younger generation is the decreasing work and motivation rate after transitioning from online learning back to in-person school.

At the start of last year, life felt far from normal. While trying to ease back into school and continue learning as “normal” as possible, school conditions were drastically different than they were before. The hybrid model, where students spent half their time online and learning from home and the other half in school with their peers and teachers, impacted students’ way of learning and was subconsciously affecting their work ethic and study habits because of having to adapt to these changes. The relaxed conditions and intensity of school started to become normalized, and student’s had gotten accustomed to the benefits of being able to complete their work from the comfort of their home, having more time to get their work done, and teachers being less insistent on work because they were aware of the unfortunate situation going on in the world and how that might be affecting the kids. “The result is students — and teachers — who have lost so much of what used to keep them motivated” (Harvard.edu). No longer having the motivation to complete work on time and being more likely to procrastinate is becoming more common between not just the students but the teachers as well. A senior, Aidan Dorian, said, “I had less motivation and my work ethic got worse because I was used to being at home and having so much time and relaxed expectations.” This shows the impact that the transition had on the students and how it caused their work to suffer because they weren’t used to the new conditions.

Overall, the drastic changes in our learning due to the hybrid model, online classes, and limited time in school, presented most people with setbacks and disadvantages. Learning to adapt to this new lifestyle, and accommodate these changes as well as battling with the general feelings about the pandemic itself, was a struggle not taken lightly by students and staff, who were left to deal with many negative outcomes and problems. Romy Cowan, another senior who felt the pandemic affected them personally said, “I have a lot more homework now, it was an abrupt transition and didn’t have time to adjust. I was also still very stressed from the pandemic and didn’t feel comfortable coming back.” Not only was it a challenge having to battle the stresses of school, but student’s were still having to cope with how the pandemic itself was affecting both their physical and mental health.

The Covid-19 pandemic put the world in a stressful, scary, and pessimistic life situation. It was necessary that we had to try our best to return back to a sense of normalcy, but given the conditions, it was apparent that this wouldn’t come without problems. Education and schooling being an important factor, while also one made difficult when having to maintain safety between people, was put to the test during the pandemic, and in return left the students and teachers with negative consequences and outcomes.