COVID-19 Pandemic’s Effect on Both the Student and the School

With the length of time the students stayed indoors due to the COVID-19 pandemic,
most of their social skills were not developed. The shutting down happened early March 2020
until the late 2021 and with almost two years of closing doors and limiting social interaction,
most students have increased their screen time exposure (Brouse, 2022).

They we're spending too much time surfing the internet, watching the television, playing
games on tablets or simply scrolling the phone. They were not able to properly exercise talking,
playing, negotiating or socializing with real life people. With this, students were not able to
develop skills that were fitting their age.

On the school’s perspective, there has been an alarming increase of classroom

disruptions from student misconduct, rowdiness outside the classroom, acts of disrespect
towards teachers and the inevitable use of electronic device during class (Chatelain, 2022).
Other schools also have observed an increase of student absenteeism. These cases were due to
the lack of social interaction between students. Most were used to being isolated in their rooms
and having online classes only to sustain their academic life. Now that most schools have
returned to full face-to-face classes, students were having a hard time coping with the new
environment. The unexpressed grief, anxiety and depression that were felt by the students
during pandemic were not properly given attention to (Vestal, 2021). Being exposed to new
people, new setting, and new learning modality have taken its toll on the emotional and mental
capacity of students, causing them to act untowardly.

Schools have upped their strategies to also cope up, extend help and solve the
challenges posed by the behavioral changes of students. Extensive teacher support, available
counselors, and other behavioral intervention meetings that were absorbed in the class were
one of the strategies of schools (Larson, 2022).

These interventions were established in order for students and teachers to cope up with
the stress brought by the post-pandemic situation.
Larson, A. (2022). Effects of COVID-19 on Students’ Academic Achievement, Behavior, and
Social-Emotional Well-Being | Shanker Institute. Shankerinstitute. Retrieved 14 October.
2022, from https://shankerinstitute.org/blog/effects-covid-19-students.

Vestal, C. (2021). COVID Harmed Kids’ Mental Health—And Schools Are Feeling It. Pewtrusts.
Retrieved 14 October. 2022, from
https://pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2021/11/08/covid-
harmed-kids-mental-health-and-schools-are-feeling-it.

Brouse, K. (2022). Behavioral Problems: New Challenges Post-COVID - Graduate Programs for
Educators. Graduateprogram. Retrieved 14 October. 2022, from
https://graduateprogram.org/2022/04/behavioral-problems-new-challenges-post-
covid/.

Chatelain, R. (2022). Public schools blame pandemic for rise in behavior problems. Ny1.
Retrieved 14 October. 2022, from
https://ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/education/2022/07/06/more-than-80--of-public-
schools-blame-pandemic-for-rise-in-behavior-problems.