The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
High school seniors deal with uncertainty
As high school seniors finish out their grad year, it seems one word best describes what they are feeling and facing in the future: uncertainty.
The provincial government shut down schools in March as part of its COVID-19 measures, transitioning to online learning as Nova Scotia enacted a plan to minimize the transmission of the disease.
Halifax West student Sapna Natarajan said it's been difficult to realize they will never get a chance to participate in traditional senior year rights of passage,
“It's been hard. I think it's been really hard for everybody in this, obviously, and I don't want to say that it's been harder for one group more than another because, obviously, it's a really new thing and no one really knows how to deal with it, but, it has been, I think, really hard for Grade 12s,” Natarajan said on Thursday.
“And just all of the things that we know we're going to miss such as graduation, and walking across the stage getting our diploma. It's something that a lot of us have been thinking about since we first started school when we were five years old. And the fact that I won't get to have that moment in front of my parents or all the people I did go to school with for so long, it's kind of sad to think.”
Virtual classwork has been more of a challenge than she thought it would be, the 18-year-old said.
“It's really hard to motivate yourself to do schoolwork at home because there are so many distractions. And, of course, just always thinking about what's going on with the world, and you're always getting updates, your phone is always right next to you. It's really easy to get distracted and then behind.”
Natarajan said she's always had good grades, averaging 95 in Grade 11 and 93 in Grade 12 before the whole system was sent off the rails of normality.
Now, provincial and inschool exams are cancelled and no grades are actually being put into the Power School evaluation system. Teachers are conducting online evaluations through assignments.
“It's certainly been a lot of work,” Natarajan said. “I know that most people I've talked to have felt overwhelmed with the amount of school work. I think it's just because of the circumstance. I feel like if this was a normal circumstance and we were working from home, I don't think it would be as overwhelming, I just think with everything else going on it just feels like a lot all the time.”
The Clayton Park-area teen is taking four classes this semester, including chemistry and physics, and has been accepted to three universities — two in Ontario — but she's settled on going to Dalhousie for engineering. She said another stress is coming from wondering if she's truly learning what she needs to succeed at the university level.
“And then the fact that we don't even know if it will be a regular university experience or if it will just continue to be online.”
Dalhousie's website says how the fall term goes will be determined by public health protocols, and that officials hope to provide an update on the fall term in June.
Natarajan said some of her friends have decided to take a gap year if the universities have to go completely online in the fall but she doesn't see herself doing that. She said with nothing to do and no job she'd just “rot away.”
She might take fewer courses if they are all online, but she can't do nothing, she said.
She worked at Subway before the pandemic hit. A lot of her friends are signing up for the Canadian Emergency Student Benefit. Legislation passed this week enables students whose employment prospects and education were affected by the pandemic to collect up to $1,250 per month. Students with disabilities or dependents can get up to $2,000 per month.
“I think I took a lot of things for granted: just going out to the store, grabbing a coffee, just the fact that everything's been taken away from us, now, it's really hard. Just going to the movies, that's something I miss so much.”