Learning the lessons of lockdown
Lucy Coombs looks back at what lockdown taught us and suggests how we can prepare for any future quarantine situations.
In quarantine, we all had our ups and downs, but one good thing that came from the time away from school was that it has helped us become more independent learners, as we had to get used to remote teaching. Although doing work in our pyjamas and snacking whenever we wanted to was fun, not being able to see our friends or have teachers to ask for help when we needed it, was at times isolating, miserable and frustrating. It’s now autumn, meaning we are going into the flu season and the news is already full of the increasing number of local lockdowns, so here’s my review of what was good about lockdown, what was hard and what we can do to make it better than last time... if it happens again.
To start off, being at home for six months gave many of us the time to find new creative skills we never knew we had, like painting, cooking, knitting and so much more. I found knuckling down to all my work in the morning enabled me to have the afternoons free to do what I wanted. During the afternoons we usually went out exploring the local area or I did baking or painting. I learnt how to play football with my brother, although I was very bad at it! I helped more around the house and learnt life skills like using online banking, basic DIY and gardening from my parents. My parents have also said they’ve learnt a lot of new things from us, through helping me and my brother with our schoolwork and from learning about our social media sites. Often, I was the one teaching my parents about my schoolwork and it did lead us to having lots of family time sharing ideas which gave me more of an insight into my parents' views.
There were times when home learning was very difficult. Sometimes, I couldn’t work out the answer to something I'd been set, such as a tricky maths equation and my parents couldn’t even understand the question or were too busy with working from home. I would email my teachers for advice when I needed it, but they also had all their other classes to manage, so the response wasn’t always instant. I found I got anxious about not being able to complete my schoolwork because of this. Personally, I find it easier to listen to what I need to do, rather than to read it, as not all of the information seems to go into my head. We all have our different preferred ways of learning, some people are auditory learners, like me, or your preferred method could be visual, physical or social. Recognising your strengths and weaknesses can help you understand how to use your brain best and can improve your self confidence. My mum sometimes became frustrated as when she helped us, she didn’t always understand what we were meant to do, so she had to look it up on the internet, which didn’t always give the answers the teachers wanted. I found it initially nerve-racking to email my teachers for help as it’s easier to say things face to face, than to type them and I didn’t always know what to say, but obviously asking them for help is still the best way forward!
With all of that said, here’s what I think we could do to improve our lockdown if it happens again or if some of us need to quarantine for a period of self-isolation. Firstly, maintain a good schedule. We know this quarantine won’t last forever. Wake up at the same time you normally do on school days (or slightly later if you’re like me and get up at 6am), have a set area to do your schoolwork away from where you sleep, have a schoolwork routine that fits you and your hobbies, with regular breaks and go to bed at a good time. One of the most difficult things for both adults and children during quarantine was sleeping. Keeping a good sleep schedule means commitment, as it's easy to start going to bed late and then getting up late, waking up feeling tired and listless. Keep phones and IPads away from the bedroom at night and keep the weekends for long lie-ins. Also, don’t be nervous if you don’t understand some schoolwork, but be proactive and email the teacher. They’ll always be happy to help and they like getting feedback from you about what is and isn’t working. Always be polite in your emails. Don’t just send a vague “I don’t get it” comment, send an email saying ‘Dear (teacher's name)’ and then ask nicely for specific help as you may not get the answer you need otherwise. Make time for yourself by going outside and being with nature and call or FaceTime friends to stay connected. Eat fresh fruit and vegetables every day. Try new things. Lastly, remember that it’s a hard time for everyone and people are going through different things that you may not be aware of, so don’t start texting people comments that could upset them or say things that you don’t mean. If we all try to follow these steps, forced time apart again could be time well spent, learning about ourselves and our families as well as our school subjects.
By Lucy Coombs, Year 8
In quarantine, we all had our ups and downs, but one good thing that came from the time away from school was that it has helped us become more independent learners, as we had to get used to remote teaching. Although doing work in our pyjamas and snacking whenever we wanted to was fun, not being able to see our friends or have teachers to ask for help when we needed it, was at times isolating, miserable and frustrating. It’s now autumn, meaning we are going into the flu season and the news is already full of the increasing number of local lockdowns, so here’s my review of what was good about lockdown, what was hard and what we can do to make it better than last time... if it happens again.
To start off, being at home for six months gave many of us the time to find new creative skills we never knew we had, like painting, cooking, knitting and so much more. I found knuckling down to all my work in the morning enabled me to have the afternoons free to do what I wanted. During the afternoons we usually went out exploring the local area or I did baking or painting. I learnt how to play football with my brother, although I was very bad at it! I helped more around the house and learnt life skills like using online banking, basic DIY and gardening from my parents. My parents have also said they’ve learnt a lot of new things from us, through helping me and my brother with our schoolwork and from learning about our social media sites. Often, I was the one teaching my parents about my schoolwork and it did lead us to having lots of family time sharing ideas which gave me more of an insight into my parents' views.
There were times when home learning was very difficult. Sometimes, I couldn’t work out the answer to something I'd been set, such as a tricky maths equation and my parents couldn’t even understand the question or were too busy with working from home. I would email my teachers for advice when I needed it, but they also had all their other classes to manage, so the response wasn’t always instant. I found I got anxious about not being able to complete my schoolwork because of this. Personally, I find it easier to listen to what I need to do, rather than to read it, as not all of the information seems to go into my head. We all have our different preferred ways of learning, some people are auditory learners, like me, or your preferred method could be visual, physical or social. Recognising your strengths and weaknesses can help you understand how to use your brain best and can improve your self confidence. My mum sometimes became frustrated as when she helped us, she didn’t always understand what we were meant to do, so she had to look it up on the internet, which didn’t always give the answers the teachers wanted. I found it initially nerve-racking to email my teachers for help as it’s easier to say things face to face, than to type them and I didn’t always know what to say, but obviously asking them for help is still the best way forward!
With all of that said, here’s what I think we could do to improve our lockdown if it happens again or if some of us need to quarantine for a period of self-isolation. Firstly, maintain a good schedule. We know this quarantine won’t last forever. Wake up at the same time you normally do on school days (or slightly later if you’re like me and get up at 6am), have a set area to do your schoolwork away from where you sleep, have a schoolwork routine that fits you and your hobbies, with regular breaks and go to bed at a good time. One of the most difficult things for both adults and children during quarantine was sleeping. Keeping a good sleep schedule means commitment, as it's easy to start going to bed late and then getting up late, waking up feeling tired and listless. Keep phones and IPads away from the bedroom at night and keep the weekends for long lie-ins. Also, don’t be nervous if you don’t understand some schoolwork, but be proactive and email the teacher. They’ll always be happy to help and they like getting feedback from you about what is and isn’t working. Always be polite in your emails. Don’t just send a vague “I don’t get it” comment, send an email saying ‘Dear (teacher's name)’ and then ask nicely for specific help as you may not get the answer you need otherwise. Make time for yourself by going outside and being with nature and call or FaceTime friends to stay connected. Eat fresh fruit and vegetables every day. Try new things. Lastly, remember that it’s a hard time for everyone and people are going through different things that you may not be aware of, so don’t start texting people comments that could upset them or say things that you don’t mean. If we all try to follow these steps, forced time apart again could be time well spent, learning about ourselves and our families as well as our school subjects.
By Lucy Coombs, Year 8