The spring semester of 2020 will go down in history as the longest semester ever.
When COVID-19 started spreading across the nation in a worldwide pandemic earlier this year, many public schools and universities alike quickly shut down to avoid a campus-wide outbreak of the virus. My school made the switch to online instruction back in March.
First, they extended spring break back in March when cases of coronavirus started popping up on the eastern side of the state. Then the president of the university announced that he would be “suspending” all face-to-face classes through March 29 under the direction of the State System of Higher Education. Then the governor of the state of Pennsylvania ordered the mandatory closure of all “non-life sustaining” businesses, and the president of the university announced that all classes would be going online for the duration of the spring semester. They also told everyone that all of the summer classes would be held online as well.
It wasn’t exactly the most seamless transition either. No one was exactly overjoyed at the prospect. Professors suddenly had to restructure their entire class while students had to navigate online learning.
I’ve taken online classes before, but this semester was admittedly much more difficult than I had anticipated.
We’ve all been struggling. And I do mean all of us. One of my favorite professors told the class in an email that it’s “much more fun” teaching college students than it is to teach her third grade son.
If you’ve been struggling with online classes, take a minute to pat yourself on the back for making it this far. It hasn’t been easy and you should give yourself some credit. You’ve been working hard, but the semester is almost over, and you’ve got a nice long summer break to look forward to!