In the spring of 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the world, shutting down stores and workplaces, confining billions to their homes, and taking the lives of millions. The pandemic marked the keystone of a tumultuous year: the political unrest and social disunity of 2020 was only further inflamed by the despair of those who had lost their jobs, the fear of those who found themselves suddenly displaced into an almost surreal world, and the uncertain dread experienced by all whose futures seemed lost in the face of an invisible, ever-growing enemy. It was amid the maelstrom of the COVID-19 pandemic that the universal constant of children worldwide—school—would be most abruptly shattered. As social gatherings became increasingly dangerous, many places traditionally predicated on close-proximity interaction, like schools, became impossible to upkeep while contending with the potentially fatal risks of the virus. Teachers, parents, and administrators alike were faced with the question of how to continue to educate the millions of isolated students nationwide—an unprecedented academic predicament. 

The onset of the pandemic was not an event anybody could have accurately predicted nor adequately prepared for—as such, schools around the world were left scrambling, having not yet finished teaching a significant portion of the curriculum with no plan as for how to continue. Even worse, the unforeseen severity and rapid propagation with which the virus spread continued to cloud the future: experts predicted the pandemic to end in May, then June, but the number of cases only continued to rise. Going into the summer, schools remained closed. The solution many educators turned to was the digital medium of online classrooms; through applications like Zoom, Google Classroom, and others, schoolteachers could at the very least communicate with and give work to the millions of students left stranded in their homes. Yet, even the digital solution was plagued with its own issues—teachers and administrators unfamiliar with the new systems in place worked with less efficiency than before, and on the other hand, students suddenly displaced in a new environment found that the process of acclimation interfered with their academic performance. In an interview, Scarsdale High School teacher Kathleen McGreal shared her experiences with teaching in the midst of the pandemic. Whether the classes be online or in-person, “it’s definitely harder to make connections with students,” she remarks, “and [in the physical classroom] when everybody has masks on, it’s really difficult to know what students are thinking or when they need help.” When teachers are trying to meet the needs of dozens of students per class, each displayed in their own video feed, the loss of the human aspect makes it much harder to interact with them as individuals rather than icons in an online chat room. Students find themselves grappling with these issues, as well: the disconnect from their teachers makes it more difficult to absorb the information being taught, especially when faced with the numerous distractions presented in an online environment, not to mention the distractions constantly occurring at home. Many students find that these conditions are negatively impacting their academic growth, especially those who struggle to adapt quickly in rapidly-changing conditions. While the greatest concern lies with maintaining the academic environment, educators also have to be careful in considering how the schooltime restrictions due to the pandemic may affect students’ social development.

“There’s definitely the social aspect, too,” says McGreal. At first glance, the social lives of students may not seem to be as big of a concern as continuing education, but studies show that the mental and social health of students has a foothold in their academic performance and overall lifetime development. A study at Missouri State University examined the differences between traditional lecture-based courses and more social-interaction based classes, surveying the student experience after each class. At the end of the study, the researchers found that students believed their heightened levels of social interaction to be helpful in “learn[ing] from others”, making learning fun and engaging, and a whole host of other effects ranging from “help[ing] students become comfortable and confident” to “help[ing] teachers get to know students better” (Hurst et al.). When students are separated by the screens of an online meeting, “the conversations feel artificial”, says McGreal. “Not being able to see each other in person, not being able to talk face-to-face,” all are aspects of the pandemic that leave students and their teachers feeling as if their class discussions are “forced.”

Yet to only focus on the daily struggles of schooling would be to ignore the true scope of the pandemic: while many may see this major disruption as an isolated event, the long term implications posed may be far more damaging than first thought. Educators create the curriculum with the expectation that the prior year’s knowledge will serve as a foundation for students to learn and comprehend new material. Experts are concerned that the disruption the pandemic imposes on a student’s academic progress is likely to result in far-reaching problems. With those inconsistencies in mind, educators have to account for the glaring difference in the “preparation” that incoming students receive; many were left asking, with a new class of students whose prior education is limited past April, how do teachers compensate for the gaps in knowledge? It became more evident as months passed that the academic consequences of the pandemic would only grow more pervasive as schools faced another school year of online learning. While many students and educators grappled with the technological and academic problems associated with online learning, there were also many families whose challenges went beyond the virtual woes. 

Many could not meet the sudden new demands of online schooling—expensive equipment and a stable connection—especially as their socioeconomic position was further endangered by the economic downfall that came with the pandemic. Presented with these challenges, the poorer and rural demographics of the country were ultimately unable to continue to provide education to their students once it was unsafe to continue in-person teaching. A study by the EdWeek Research Center revealed that lower-income school districts were three times less likely to be able to provide online teaching to all of their students (EdWeek Research Center). It was also in these poorer demographics that digital truancy became more prevalent in districts able to teach online classes. The higher rates of digital truancy in poorer demographics were a consequence of the environment rather than student commitment to education: an unstable internet connection, the high costs of a new computer, the sudden demand for parents to assume the role of teachers in the midst of financial recession—all were high barriers for the less financially capable to continue to attend online classes. McGreal admits that in areas like Scarsdale, people were fortunate enough to not face these financial barriers to virtual education. “Students are trying their best,” McGreal adds, but it often comes down to availability when considering the outside conditions of rising unemployment and restricted public movement. And although many students are challenged by this unavailability of technology, in some areas, the pandemic has posed an even more extreme problem: finding the necessary nutrition—daily meals—in order to survive. Prior to the pandemic, millions of students relied on free or reduced-cost meals at school as an important component in their daily nutritional needs, with over 20 million students receiving free lunches daily—millions more paid a reduced price, not to mention another 11 million students that received free school breakfast as well, doubling the number of meals that many were reliant upon as a staple for survival (School Nutrition Association). The closure of schools meant that students could no longer access these meals, further burdening parents—whose financial situations often relied on these free meals in the first place—with the costs of daily meals for their children. 

The COVID-19 pandemic proved dire for underprepared and underprivileged students nationwide; yet, the pandemic did not directly cause these issues; rather, it exacerbated the lack of support systems in place within schools to handle the academic/social problems of students and the socioeconomic disparity in being unable to access technology or even food. These deep-rooted inequities have long existed within the social system and have been pushed to the point of urgency by a worldwide crisis. Now that the pandemic has brought these issues to the forefront, educators are determined that the heightened recognition of these inequalities should not fade away with the return of normalcy. 

The pandemic reminded many people of the importance—and fragility—of traditional schooling systems. Having seen the challenges posed for education throughout 2020, people nationwide are now filled with new ambition for the possibility of change. The reliance on technology during the pandemic opened countless new possibilities for integrated learning even in normal schooling environments, and the familiarization with these systems that many schools now have can only prove beneficial to the depth of tools available to teachers. Many internet providers stepped up to provide connection to disconnected districts—the sheer number of which led many to believe that similar, permanent measures are in order to begin to mend the national technological disparity. Even the social separation that came with the pandemic elucidated the importance of human interaction on growth, not only as a student but also as an individual. The COVID-19 pandemic taught the world a costly lesson—one whose teachings could prove for major shifts in the landscape of education. Education came to a standstill in the midst of worldwide tragedy, yet, the tenacity of students, parents, and educators—their ability to innovate for the sake of academic continuation—illuminated new possibilities to emerge even stronger and more inclusive than before, forever altering the landscape of education.