Read on Twitter
I just wanna speak on the experience of being a student and an essential worker during this unprecedented time we’re currently living in real quick (1/19).
First of all, I want to apologize for the amount of complaining that there will be in this piece. Out of respect for my university and employer (and out of self preservation in my role as a student and worker) I will be referring to them in general terms throughout (2/19).
First, my experience as a student has been one of the worst of my academic career. This is coming from a person who was previously suspended and almost flunked out of Howard University, a person who endured a winless senior season that I quit halfway through. 2nd semester (3/19)
... sophomore year of high school, my father died. And still, as far as the barriers to learning and the immense pressure of impending assignments has made for one of the most high-stress, minimal-learning semester I have ever had in school. All of the semesters of (4/19)
... high stress that I touched on had events which, no matter how in my control they might have been at one point, were clearly out of my control at that point. In two of the three, I put valiant academic efforts forward and saved my semester (5/19).
But I had my teachers. I was face to face with them day in and day out, constantly asking for and receiving the support I needed, not just academically but emotionally as well. My trials and tribulations in high school, and my teachers support of me in this time, largely (6/19)
... led to my decision to go into education after undergrad. The need that I had is a need children have all over the nation. And it’s a need that does not magically disappear upon graduation from high school. I feel myself and many other students have been cut off from (7/19)
...one of the most valuable resources we have as students: our teachers. We have zoom, we have text and email and other forms of communication. But there is no substitute for face-to-face interaction between a teacher and their pupils. That is my first difficulty with the (8/19)
... emergency online classes which have ensued. Also, I don’t know if I am alone in this, but I feel almost paralyzed with intimidation (fear?) at the course load and work I’ve been assigned. It is now Friday night, the semester ends this Monday, and I feel like a deer (9/19)
... caught in the headlights of a Mac truck, about to get absolutely wrecked by this thing that has me frozen. I moved two days ago, and the work I’ll touch on later has also affected things, but this semester is really scaring me. I’m trying to find the strength (10/19)
... to finish right now. But man. It’s been something else. Another thing I have disliked is the automatic assumption by many teachers that “you guys have nothing to do” (an actual phrase I’ve heard multiple times). As an “essential worker” still putting in 30-35 hr weeks (11/19)
... this has been an especially stressful aspect of the online school we are in. As a result of this mindset, some classes have assigned what seems like an obscene amount of work to fill our time. Work piles up for myself and many other students who are also “essential (12/19)
... workers. My job at an unnamed grocery store has been another stress in my life (and a blessing as well, I wouldn’t be able to pay my rent or save money for tuition without them). Up until early April, it seemed that half measures were being taken. They were outpacing (13/19)
... many of the other national grocery chains, a fact that they reminded us of often, but the store was allowed to be overrun with people far beyond the time that Mayor Muriel Bowser announces that crowds of over 100 should be avoided. Furthermore, an unsaid need to prove (14/19)
... one’s loyalty to the company was in the air over the last couple of weeks. Recently, new benefits were enacted and another aspect has arisen that is frustrating in the exact opposite way. As a student in finals season, I have been burning the candle at both ends (15/19)
... in an attempt to maintain food academic standing and stay on track to graduate. As a result, however, my immune system is a little battered, and I have a persistent sore throat. Because of this, a new set of rules enacted by my employer has prevented me from working (16/19)
... for more than a couple of shifts at this point. I don’t know, as I come to the close of this thread it feels that I am ranting more than anything. Above anything else, I resent the implication that no one has anything to do during this time. Some of our hectic lives (17/19)
... continue to chug on at the feverish pace they were at before the world shut down for Covid-19. In some cases, I believe these lives have gotten even more hectic. So yes, it’s amazing that people can Instacart groceries and stay in with their children and bond during (18/19).
... this time. But please don’t forget us members of society who are so “essential” that we have to keep going. Remember the students and try to temper your expectations, your courseloads, and your attitudes when you’re buying groceries. We would appreciate it greatly (19/19).
