Classroom Technology

Why Middle Schoolers Dread (or Enjoy) Remote Learning: ‘I Get Headaches All the Time’

By Alyson Klein — January 22, 2021 4 min read
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
A Los Angeles Unified School District student attends an online class at Boys & Girls Club of Hollywood in Los Angeles on Aug. 26, 2020.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a very personal piece for Education Week, suggesting that, if there had been a pandemic when I was in middle school, I might have been better off because of remote learning.

I said I would have been grateful to get away from the 7th-grade social scene, where I felt lost. I wrote that, given my attention deficit disorder, I would have been better able to tackle difficult-for-me content, especially in math, with the extra time and personalized attention that online learning can allow.

I said I was jealous of some of today’s COVID kids for being able to skip out on at least part of the miserable middle school experience that I went through.

The response from actual COVID-era 7th and 8th graders? You have no idea what you’re talking about, lady. (Well, they put it nicer than that.)

Canye Letizia, who teaches literacy at Valhalla Middle School near New York City, shared my personal essay with his students. They are learning in a hybrid model, where most students split their time between remote and in-person instruction. He wanted to know if my vision of online learning was in line with their reality. Letizia asked the kids to write to me, sharing their thoughts about my perspective and their own experiences.

Bottom-line: The students were all very polite, but most made it clear they think I’m nuts for wishing I could put my 7th-grade self in their shoes.

Here’s a sample of what they had to say:

“It is not as fun as it seems to be home all day. It gets boring in between classes, and you don’t always get the attention you need for your questions to be answered. Take it from somebody doing it first-hand, learning is much easier in a building than at home,” said one boy.

“I thought there was no way someone would want to live through this pandemic,” wrote another. “I don’t really enjoy wearing a mask, and I find it hard to learn anything when I am at home.”

“I am in 7th grade and I’ve never really felt the way that you have,” wrote a girl. “I have plenty of friends and I enjoy getting involved and being different. I try not to think of what others think about me, although I know it is really hard. During the pandemic, online school was so dull for me. I did well in school, got good grades, but every day felt almost the same and I missed seeing my friends and teachers and I missed the normal way of learning. Online school just wasn’t the best for me and living through a pandemic at my age is torture.”

For another boy, online learning is painful. Literally, “I currently get headaches all the time from staring at the computer screen for so long,” he wrote.

And one girl said the arrangement has taken a toll on her mental health:

“Being a ‘COVID kid’ isn’t that great. Last year [when the pandemic hit] I felt I was in a never- ending cycle of just school. You woke up and you went to school, you did your homework all day, ate, then you were just in a slump. The weekends merged into the weekdays. Birthdays felt the same, holidays, all of it came and left, instantly. I was up late at night getting no sleep staring at the ceiling. I’d have toddler meltdowns over nothing sometimes. (and they were absolutely hilarious).” Note: I didn’t ask her parents or guardians if they also found her toddler meltdowns “hilarious.”

Other kids said that they spent too much time dealing with technical difficulties.

“Learning from home isn’t as fun and easy as it seems. Sometimes when my WiFi goes down because too many people are on it, we cannot join our google/zoom meeting,” wrote another student.

But a few kids said they got where I was coming from:

“I am doing fully remote schooling and it does have some benefits. I can eat a snack, re-watch videos, and do assignments at my own pace. Also, I can pursue my own interests like science or coding,” wrote a boy.

And one girl said she her middle school experience was similar to mine–right down to eating lunch in a bathroom stall in order to avoid the cafeteria social scene.

“I have to admit that I did eat lunch in a bathroom stall multiple times,” wrote one girl. “I heard some students saying ‘omg that’s heartbreaking’ while reading (which it is) and I was just silently thinking about every time I’ve done that. I really feel that your 7th grade and my 6th grade were almost identical. I’ve never really related to an actual human being besides my cousins and fictional characters.”

Another boy, who seems to have some of the same learning differences I do, said he found it easier to concentrate at home. “Sitting at a desk all day can be boring and I often get distracted,” he wrote. “That is why I like it at home where I can stand up and walk around to regain focus if I need to.”

Still, it seems that loving online learning is the exception, rather than the rule. Want to know what kind of students are actually doing better academically under this arrangement and what schools can do for them going forward? Check out this story.

Related Tags:

Events

School Climate & Safety Webinar Engaging Every Student: How to Address Absenteeism and Build Belonging
Gain valuable insights and practical solutions to address absenteeism and build a more welcoming and supportive school environment.
Student Well-Being K-12 Essentials Forum Social-Emotional Learning 2025: Examining Priorities and Practices
Join this free virtual event to learn about SEL strategies, skills, and to hear from experts on the use and expansion of SEL programs.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
Professional Development Webinar
Inside PLCs: Proven Strategies from K-12 Leaders
Join an expert panel to explore strategies for building collaborative PLCs, overcoming common challenges, and using data effectively.
Content provided by Otus

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
View Jobs
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
View Jobs
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
View Jobs
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.
View Jobs

Read Next

Classroom Technology Leader To Learn From This Tech Director Is Revolutionizing Special Education With Gaming
Evan Abramson led the creation of an esports arena for students with autism spectrum disorder. It may be the first in the country.
12 min read
Evan Abramson, 47, Director of Technology and Innovation at Morris-Union Jointure Commission, sits for a portrait at the school in Warren, N.J., on Jan. 15, 2025. Morris-Union Jointure Commission works primarily with students up to the age of 21 on the autism spectrum. Abramson, through his experience watching his own son with special needs play video games, helped bring an e-sports lab to life at the school in order to help students better regulate themselves.
Evan Abramson, the director of technology and innovation at Morris-Union Jointure Commission, in Warren, N.J., on Jan. 15, 2025. Abramson spearheaded an esports program to help students on the autism spectrum connect with one another and learn new skills. The gaming arena where students play together may be the first-of-its-kind in the country.
Michelle Gustafson for Education Week
Classroom Technology From Our Research Center Who Pays for Repairs to Students’ School-Issued Devices?
Providing every student with a school-issued device has become commonplace in K-12 schools, but it's costly to maintain.
2 min read
Tightly cropped photo of a group of students sitting at their desks in the classroom using laptops.
E+
Classroom Technology Parents Lack Digital Know-How. Is It Schools' Responsibility to Fix That?
Most parents wish they had stronger technological skills so that they could help their children with online class assignments.
2 min read
Mother and son work at home on laptop.
iStock/Getty
Classroom Technology What's In, What's Out for AI, Cellphones, Cybersecurity, and Other Ed-Tech Stuff
Education technology changes quickly, and so do the trends that define how educators and students use it. What's ahead for 2025?
Image of students using laptops in the classroom.
E+