Education Week - September 22, 2021 - 21

then sitting still for hours in the classroom
before the pandemic. She now found that
she could get things done better " being
home in my own comfort zone and being
able to move around. "
Schooling from home also offers more
one-on-one time with teachers, for
students and parents alike. " I can get
more help virtually than having a teacher
who's ... going to one student, one by one, "
that same 11th grader noted. " He can just
help us all at one time, because we are all
in one space. "
Parents reported having more of a
handle on their children's assignments
and their due dates, as well as more
interactions with teachers. For both
parents and their teenagers, taking a
break from the overscheduled nature of
work, school, and activities also allowed
them to increase family time, as well as
their bonds with each other.
Teenagers are still trying to figure out
their own identity and explore new things.
For many, increased time at home also
gave them the space to discover who they
were and what they liked to do. Another
11th grade girl told us that she started
to like cooking more, learned to do her
own hair, redecorated her room, listened
to audio books, and started going on
more walks. For others, the lack of social
pressure and not having to deal with
bullying in school allowed for a break
from negative interactions with others,
which led to improved mental health.
The pandemic isn't over, and stress
We Can Save the Good Parts
Of Pandemic Schooling
Yes, there were
some good parts
B
efore COVID-19,
a parent we'll call
" Gabrielle " woke up
every day at 4 a.m.
She ate breakfast, got
her children ready for
school, and left for
work by 5:30 a.m. Her kids left only a little
later, at 6 a.m., because they had to catch
three different buses to get to school. Even
though the school was on the other side of
town, it was worth the hardship because
it was so much better than the local
alternative.
Gabrielle and the kids would return home
at 5:30 p.m., after a long day at work and
school, to have dinner, complete homework,
and only afterward get some sleep. Then, it
started over at 4 a.m. the next day-until the
pandemic arrived.
Over the last year and a half, families have
By Laura Clary
& Tamar Mendelson
CLARY and MENDELSON
are faculty members in the
Department of Mental Health at
the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg
School for Public Health.
experienced hardships and loss because
of COVID-19. To explore the experiences
of Baltimore families since the pandemic
began, our research team surveyed 150
9th to 12th graders-students we had
previously studied for a research project on
youth mental health in 29 Baltimore public
schools. For a subset, we also interviewed
one parent of each of those youths. Young
people reported experiencing significant
stress and adversity with respect to school
disruption, family finances, and family
illness and death. The students most keenly
felt anxiety from falling behind in school
and missing their friends.
But for some families, time away from
the grind of the daily commute and the
academic pressures and social minefields
of school has been beneficial. In fact, many
young people found that they had more
time to prioritize their own mental health
and strengthen their bonds with family
members. For instance, almost half the
teenagers that we surveyed over the past
eight months asserted that the pandemic
had either positively affected their lives or
that their lives stayed the same. They were
able to sleep more-a critical driver of health
wellness for teenagers-and spend more
time with family. This points to a couple of
the unexpected advantages for youth during
the last 18 months: an opportunity to benefit
from school flexibility and reinforce familial
relationships.
One 11th grade girl described her
difficulty traveling to school on time and
"
For some
families, time
away from the
grind of the
daily commute
and the
academic
pressures
and social
minefields of
school has
been beneficial.
about the effects of the Delta variant and
lack of a vaccine for children younger
than 12 is certainly an ongoing concern
for schools and families. However, given
that most youth are transitioning back
to in-person schooling this fall, there is
a golden opportunity for schools-and
parents-to help improve students'
learning experiences and reduce social
stress despite the ongoing pandemic.
First, schools should provide
opportunities for students to give input
on their return to in-person learning.
This may include empowering students
to name and continue to strengthen
positive aspects of their lives during
the pandemic, such as a focus on family
relationships or newfound hobbies or
interests, as well as to identify what parts
of prepandemic schooling caused stress
and how that stress could be reduced.
There is no one-size-fits-all approach to
student wellness; schools should assess
students' current academic and mentalhealth
strengths and challenges to
identify strategies that best address their
diverse needs.
Second, school staff should consider
incorporating some of the flexibility of
remote learning into in-person learning,
such as developing a hybrid model that
allows students to learn either somewhat
or always from home, starting school later
to allow students to get more sleep, and
using weekly Zoom calls to work more
closely with students and parents. School
staff should also identify ways to increase
student social activities and implement
effective anti-bullying programs.
At first glance, everyone wants nothing
more than to return to normal once the
pandemic ends. But if we dig a little
deeper-or just ask the kids-we can find
so many ways to learn from what the
pandemic has been teaching us. n
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Education Week - September 22, 2021

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