by Brenda Sutherlin and Champagne Morris
On March 13, 2020, then President Donald Trump declared a national emergency because of Covid-19. While the Covid-19 infection numbers are going down, people are still dying from the virus.
One thing that is the same is students taking online classes. Losing that human connectedness that comes from in person class makes it harder for students to stay in touch with reality, and to bond with fellow students.
Students who are first year students have failed to gain first year connection with their instructors. Student who need extra tutoring, and need it in person, that tactile touch, can sometimes lose that understanding. It is also hard on English as a second language learners because of the vocabulary or comprehension barriers.
Many online classes are harder for hands on learners. When you have a work at your own pace class, that is harder because you are having to teach yourself. Knowing how to budget time is essential, and some students who cannot do time management have to repeat courses. Organizational skills are helpful, especially for future jobs. These are necessary for life to be successful.
Getting into college may be easier because of the pandemic, with some colleges and universities waiving college entrance exams. Lower tuition prices and shorter time to earn degrees are also helping students.
Americans can keep the basic necessities of life on hand now. Unlike the beginning of the pandemic, toilet paper can now be found on store shelves, if it is not coming from China. We may never understand why there was a run on toilet paper, but those days may behind us.
Americans really showed their values when it came to masks and vaccines. One amazing thing about being an American is having the freedom to stand up for what you truly believe in. Those who valued masks and vaccines followed the guidelines, and those who were skeptical, were able to ignore masks and vaccines.
Many things cancelled or postponed because of the pandemic are reopening in this third year of the pandemic. One loosening of the rules is when families are having babies, and now the stays allowed to be longer for the new mothers, and visitors are allowed again in labor and delivery rooms.
During the pandemic, with the world shut down, there was no war, like we have now in Ukraine. Conflicts took a break, now it is like one catastrophe was traded for another on a global scale. Instead of fighting a virus, we have people fighting each other physically. We are feeling the effects of that fight at the gas pumps.
With more than six million people dead of Covid worldwide, some people have come to value family more during the loss of loved ones, and even some people who were skeptical about the virus have come to believe that it was not a hoax, when they lost family members.
This pandemic will definitely be something remembered in history for a long time.