Online Class Experience

It was during the month of March when Enhance Community Quarantine started and the Philippines has been put into lockdown. Over those months, a lot of things had happened for the lives of the million Filipinos, a lot of people lost their jobs, due to this, a lot of political views changed people's perspectives and our economy has also been affected. 

It's getting hard each passing months, it has never been easy.

Despite of these circumstances, the government still decided to continue the education in the Philippines even though a lot of students were pleading for academic freeze. 

I am one of those students. We are in the middle of crisis, I don't think education should still be in our priority right now. 2020 is not a good year to study, there are a lot of barriers students must face and overcome.

But, all of our pleas became unheard.

Some students never want to be left behind. Even with unwilling heart, they still chose to enroll due to that reason. There are also students who chose not to enroll this academic year given by these reasons; they can't provide the materials needed in online class, they are also living in a remote area where there is no stable connection, the tuition fee is so expensive and lastly, students won't learn anything in online class.

There are also courses in college where it will be hard to learn in face-to-face, what more if it will be taught online?

There are still a lot of reasons out there and the line, "Kapag may gusto, may paraan,” isn’t applicable at all. Our ways are limited. Forcing something that won't really work will only make us suffer.

I was left with no  choice but to enroll this academic year, I'm a first year College student, taking up the course Bachelor of Science in Real Estate Management. 

I had a hope of learning even through online, believing that it can only be a year, I think I can able to cope up... but day by day, the challenge of online class is crumbling this hope within me.

This August 03, 2020, is the start of our online learning. It’s true that through online, professors have a lot of activities to send. I don’t know, maybe, they think that we have a lot of time to make them since we are only in our homes?

It’s even harder because we also have duties in our homes. They must have suspected that we are only laying in bed all day but that isn’t the case. 

During virtual meeting, there will be a dress code to follow. Wearing spaghetti strap, sandos, pajamas, etc. are prohibited. It can show lack of respect and decency. Wearing shirts or polos are preferable. For our professors, it is also okay if we attend his online class without taking a bath as long as we look decent in the video and to not look uninterested.

Teachers are also doing their best to cope up with this new adjustment. We are all struggling. If consideration can be present in both parties, the difficulties will be lessened.

As for my blockmates, they are nice, and fun to talk with. We haven't met each other in persons yet but we all got easily close. During this unprecedented time, it is important to help each other up especially when one struggles.

Help in any way we can. Our kindness can go in a long way.

I hate oral recitation, especially if I am unprepared. Our professors will just call us without warning. Unlike in face-to-face where you can hide yourself behind your classmate's back, in online class, you can't do that even if you turn off your camera, there is still a possibility that you will be called because your name will still appear in the screen. 

 

Our professor told us something about our online class that really changed my mindset towards it. The role of a student. He understands the truth that we are against by this new set-up but we don't have any choice but to cope up with it, given by the fact that we chose to be enrolled in this academic year. 

We need to fulfill our role as a student like complying the requirements given and  attending classes. 

If we have enrolled ourselves in online class, we also need to see the possibilities of overcoming the circumstances. It's hard, but nobody told us it will be easy. Face-to-face or online class, suffering is a must in order to learn something. 

Activities and assignments are piling up, after finishing one assignment, there will be another one and another one and another one, it seems never-ending. There will be due dates and failure to pass the requirement in the given deadline, your work will be considered "missing."

With this, I have learned to manage my time. Instead of spending most of my time watching in Netflix and reading in Wattpad, I gave way for my school works.  I know for a fact that I can't enjoy watching and reading while there is an activity and assignment waiting for me at the Google Classroom.

Third week is hellish. My energy is getting out of the drain. There is an urge of wanting to drop this academic year until everything gets back to normal. To get myself back on track, I make sure to be reminded by my goals. Not this online class will make me kill my dreams. I can overcome it, I believe I can.

I believe we can.

I feel bad for some of my blockmates for not being able to attend classes due to their unstable internet connection. To help, whenever they ask something in our group conversation, I always provide them with instructions.

On the fourth week, I am coping up little by little but I always feel exhausted. We should be resting in the house, not studying. Whenever I plan to sleep in the afternoon, it would be a waste of time, thinking about all the activities I still needed to finish and continue. 

I am sharing all these to express my struggles in online learning. Everything I have said in this blog is with utmost sincerity and truthfulness. This is my own experience and not anyone else’s. 

But, if I will to based this in someone else's experience, I can say that online class doesn't support equality. Online class only favours those who are privileged. If you have gadgets, you can study. If you are in a nice place with a stable internet connection, you can have a peaceful class. 

But, if you don't have any of these? Expect difficulties in your online class experience.

We are in the middle of a crisis yet they chose to add another difficult situation inside a difficult situation. This makes our situation harder than it already is.

There are people who have enough resources for online class yet they chose not to enroll. I see it as courage. They don’t mind being left behind if it means learning nothing at online class. It's okay to graduate late than learn nothing.

I am one of those students who pleads for academic freeze, not because this is what we want but because this is what everybody needs. Facing this pandemic alone is hard but still continuing the education in the middle of the crisis makes it harder. 

It's sad to think that 2020 will be historical but not in a good way. We will remember this as a chaotic year, full of hardships and pain. 

Postponing the education for this year can make someone else’s burden to be light to carry. Home is not a good place to study and online class is not for everyone, all the more reasons to announce an academic freeze. 

Yours truly,

Clar ♡