The Impact of Home Learning
by Imogen Edmundson
As schools prepare to reopen on the 8th March, we can begin to say goodbye to remote learning for most students. However, its prevalence in the past few months does beg the question, will we ever truly most past remote learning, and how has it impacted the wellbeing of students both physically, and mentally?
Not all students have been able to have continuous access to screens, but for those that have one of the biggest problems has been eye strain. Doing a full school day alongside hours of homework has meant that the majority of a young person’s day is spent online. With an average recreational screen-time of over seven hours recorded in 2019- not counting work-related use of screens- one can only begin to imagine what a young person’s screen-time would average at in 2021. Whilst remote learning is certainly an important measure to stop the spread of Covid-19, it can and has caused physical health issues of its own- although certainly not as severe as the virus might- and eye strain is one of the most common complaints. Student at a local school Bea Clarin tells me: ‘My vision was already bad, but since learning from home I’ve been having constant headaches, and my eyes feel sore all the time,’. 
Back pain and back posture have also been constant features of remote learning, but perhaps one of the more pervasive and long-lasting impacts has been the mental cost. Although some students will have enjoyed the ability to dictate how they go about their day, and appreciate the break from continuous interpersonal interactions, for many it has been a time of little motivation and low moods. A lack of motivation is no surprise with students in exam years constantly receiving mixed messages, but a new lack of structure to the day has also caused issues. Particularly for those who struggle with executive dysfunction, trying to plan the day has caused stress even before the actual work has begun, and the ability to focus on said work has greatly decreased. Students who work better alone may have seen an increase in productivity, but for those who need company to be productive, work that might have taken 20 minutes has consumed a number of hours. If nothing else, remote learning has definitely highlighted that students work very differently, and this is certainly something that should be taken more into consideration as we move back to in-person learning. 
Schooling from home has been the best alternative to attending school during a pandemic, but it is not without its faults. As we return to in-person learning, ideally for good, it is important that schools consider how many students have struggled to complete work, and the impact that remote learning has had on students’ attitude and motivation. Although it has largely protected physical health, aside from the mentioned complaints, remote learning for many has caused a disruption to mental health, and one which will take a while to recover from, or learn to manage.