Effect of COVID-19 on students in Quebec

Willie B. Thomas

Stock Images of High school student learning and socializing within a school setting

Rosalie Langlois

   

     The second wave of covid-19 hits hard in Quebec city, killing the motivation in schools.

 

    The world pandemic right now is causing a lot of problems in all our lives. For younger people, the school can be really hard and stressful right now. The major problem with an online school is the gap between students who need professional help, and those who don’t. During the first lockdown, students who needed professional help with school were left alone, because all schools were closed.

     In a study by LaPresse, more than 80% of the 1500 respondents said that they didn’t see an increase in services in their school since the beginning of the year. Worse, 40% of them saw a decrease.

    Students with no special needs are mainly doing okay with online school and all the restrictions due to Covid-19. For them, some problems like a lack of motivation or stress can appear. It can be hard at some point because they don’t have the resources they had before the pandemic, but normally, online school will not have a big impact on their academic success.

     People who were helping teenagers to stay in school before the pandemic are now more worried that more students will drop out because of all the challenges they need to face. (online schools, lack of resources, etc.)

     Professionals like teachers, psychologists, and social workers do their best to help everyone, even if it’s hard to keep up in these times.

     I consulted a social worker at my school, Mister Julien. He mentioned that more students were showing psychological distress since the pandemic. He also told me that because of all the new responsibilities he has on his shoulders, like watching if everyone is respecting all the new rules, he has less time to help students.

     In conclusion, everyone is doing their best to adapt themselves to the new situation, even if it can be really hard and exhausting.