Greenwood ICSE students have been enjoying a whole two-and-a-half month vacation and are only just beginning to gear up for online classes starting from June 1st 2020. However, the situation is a little bit different for our friends across the gate on the international campus. IB students had school online while we were enjoying lockdown summer and are only just stepping into an early summer vacation as their final examinations have been postponed.
Online school can be a boon and a bane. School doesn’t feel real over a screen. “It is easy to not pay attention,” Varsha Nandhakumar says, “No one really interrupts much but it is harder to stay focused.”
A host of IB students are complaining about the immense amounts of work they were set over online school. Their finals depend upon the assignments they submit every week. However, it is not that easy to maintain the mindset required for school. “I was having fun the first week,” Khushi Bedi tells me, “then every class and assignment felt optional.” It is easy to put the assignments off but students have more time on their hands and are taking their own pace to get things done.
IB student or not, everyone in the incoming senior class is worried about their school opportunities in the midst of this crisis. IB students have their own slew of problems to fret over. Creativity, Active, Service (CAS) is a compulsory component of the IB programme. Some students finished their project before the pandemic and are relieved for their foresight. One thing less to be bothered about. For the other students, plans have to change because life in lockdown looks very different.
Everyone is starting some endeavor to contribute to society in some way for their CAS projects. The ventures start to blend together and they are not unique anymore. “Everyone does the same thing,” says Prakruthi Sri, “It’s so boring.”
IB students are in a frenzy to fill up their college application in the holidays. As a lot of the usual summertime activities are out of the picture, online courses are valued substitutes. There is a course for everyone. Khushi is spending her time doing courses on graphic design and psychology. This free time is also a great opportunity to work on personal projects. Varsha is working on her dance and an art related project. Khushi is working on a mental health awareness blog called The Mind Forum.
However, lockdown isn’t just the time to get your life together and be productive at every moment possible. The hours get sluggish and everyone needs a way to make the time pass by. Tiktok and Netflix are important weapons against boredom. An endless loop of staring at a screen to make up for seeing people in real life is the way many of us are biding our days. It is not very healthy but who isn’t guilty of bingeing a show during quarantine. IB students are humans as well.
Student life is student life, whichever side of the Greenwood High campus you are on. It is an endless loop of work, sleep, and screen time.
-By Minal Shaik
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