JIAN RUSSEL M.

CASTILLO

ANGELICA GAIL M. CARPACIO

AFTERMATH OF TWO CONSECUTIVE YEARS OF DISTANCE LEARNING: GRADE 7

STUDENTS’ LEVEL OF SOCIAL ACTIVENESS IN BACO CATHOLIC SCHOOL,
INC. SCHOOL YEAR 2022-2023

EVIDENCE

a. In the study of Sikali (2020), he stated that to society,

social distancing presents the dangers of increasing social
rejection, growing impersonality and individualism, and the loss
of a sense of community. It negatively affects learning and
growth, and it prevents people from effectively socializing,
which is a fundamental human need. First and foremost, the
measures carried a strong psychological message, which is the
fear of others, along with the idea that others are potential
carriers of deadly germs and life‐threatening diseases. The
alarming rate of contamination and death from the virus
contributed to establishing more panic, and even paranoia among
many. What is particularly concerning is the fact that this
psychological effect could potentially remain in our
communities, even long after the pandemic. Whether this is at
work, in restaurants, or in public spaces, our society has long
been characterized by physical interactions between people. We
are used to working in groups, going places, meeting new people,
and making conversations with them on a daily basis. As we
navigate through life, much of what fulfills us are the bonds we
create with other people, and more often than not, those bonds
materialize through physical interactions. “Social interactions
are proposed to be a basic human need, analogous to other
fundamental needs such as food consumption or sleep. Indeed,
feeling insufficiently connected to others is associated with
profound and lasting negative consequences on physical and
mental health, even leading to increased mortality” Orben,
Tomova, and Blakemore (2020). Physical interactions are an
essential part of human social experience, and they are
particularly important for the social development of young
people. By closing schools, the pandemic is preventing many
children and adolescents from socializing with others. This
affects their ability to make quality connections, which impacts
their personal growth. Indeed, youth flourishes socially through
connections and fulfilling relationships, which are also an
integral part of their learning. Long‐term isolation leaves
these basic human needs unsatisfied and ultimately affects
mental health. As Orben et al. (2020) puts it, “Human
adolescents are hypersensitive to social stimuli and to the
negative effects of social exclusion.”

b. According to Cleofas, J. (2021), the Covid-19 pandemic and

the transition of educational landscapes from traditional to
online classes, have exposed students to an increased risk of
mental health problems that can impact their educational
engagement and learning outcomes. This is just one example of
how the pandemic has had a significant impact on students'
attitudes toward other people, particularly their classmates and
teachers. Their participation was lost due to the lockdown
during the pandemic, so the others have changed considerably.

My Evaluation:

In their study entitled " AFTERMATH OF TWO CONSECUTIVE

YEARS OF DISTANCE LEARNING: GRADE 7 STUDENTS’ LEVEL OF SOCIAL
ACTIVENESS IN BACO CATHOLIC SCHOOL, INC. SCHOOL YEAR 2022-2023"
the researchers make the assumption and claim that the two years
of distance learning as social restriction have positively
affect students' social life. In contrast to their claim, we
believe that social restriction or the two years of distance
learning have a greater detrimental effect on the social lives
of Grade 7 students. These students' experiences during the
pandemic caused significant changes in their attitudes and
behaviors, which had a negative impact on their capacity for
socialization. As a result of the distance learning that took
place for two consecutive years, the Grade 7 students are now
having more trouble interacting and communicating with other
students. These modifications made it necessary for students to
alter their perspectives on their actions at school.
Additionally, given that they are only in seventh grade, they
were still in elementary school when the distance learning
program began, which means that they were not given the chance
to be taught and prepared for high school. This only serves to
demonstrate that, due to the numerous adverse effects of
distance learning social restrictions, it is not always simple
for Grade 7 students to have a good social life.

My Sample Evidence

The preliminary data we have gathered only serves to

highlight how difficult it would be for social restrictions to
enhance and positively affect Grade 7 students' social lives.
Based on the observations we make while we have a chance, some
Grade 7 students today are reluctant to approach their peers,
awkward around one another, and enthusiastic about things. This
demonstrates that there is a serious issue affecting students'
social lives, which has a negative impact on them. According to
a study, a lot of people reported feeling more lonely during the
two years of distance learning. The safety regulations that were
put in place have only made students feel more alone. People
must keep six feet between each other, and gatherings outside of
home are also not advised. They start to feel moody when they
stay home for a while, and some people may even experience an
increase in anxiety and depression as a result of staying home
for so long. This thus demonstrates once more that it will be
challenging for the social restriction to significantly improve
the social lives of Grade 7 students because of the factors that
will affect students’ behaviour in school.

Reasons

We have sufficient evidence to support our claim regarding

the subject of the researchers we chose. Some facts provided us
with a means of proving our counterclaim. We refuted the
researchers' assertion because we discovered something more
intriguing that might be investigated. Furthermore, even though
we are not in Grade 7, we have experience distance learning, and
we can say that it was difficult for us to integrate it into our
social lives, which is another reason why we couldn't agree with
the researcher’s claim. So, how much more can Grade 7 students
accomplish given that we are already in Grade 12 but continue to
encounter circumstances that hinder our socialization abilities?
Every claim we've made has been supported by important,
pertinent information. This served as justification for
assertions regarding the things we desired to demonstrate or
prove in relation to the study's title. The fact that the claim
we refuted is only a portion of the researchers' study and we
are still unsure of what the full scope of their research is,
means that this counterclaim does not undermine their research
title.