How do students really feel about the COVID-19 era? What will they remember about 2020? Lorraine Radice, director of literacy at Long Beach Public Schools in New York, aimed to find out. Inspired by a New York Times article that asked seven artists their thoughts about the pandemic, Radice and her colleagues crafted their own questions to ask more than 800 K–12 students in their district. Sweet and insightful, tragic, heartwarming, and downright funny, the quotes highlight students’ complex emotions and resilience. Here’s a selection of the responses.
What is one thing you learned this year?
“The world is kinder to each other when we are all struggling, which is really sad.”
(Grade 12)
“Masks make me mad . . . very, very mad.” (Grade 3)
What is a moment you will always remember about this year?
“All the times I was talking, and my microphone was not muted.” (Grade 11)
“The feeling when I was lying in my bed hoping my family and I wouldn’t get the virus.” (Grade 7)
What was most challenging about this year?
“Remembering that during snacks you have to put your mask on if you want to talk.” (Grade 5)
What is one thing that surprised you about yourself this year?
“How much school actually impacted my life and how much I enjoyed going to school and being around people my age.” (Grade 10)
“When we went remote, it was kind of hard to learn on a computer and for every student to understand what we were learning. It’s surprising that we all know what to do now.” (Grade 4)
Years from now, when you think back to this past year, what’s something positive that you may reflect on?
“The best thing of this year was that I got to spend more time with my family outside… I got to play soccer with my brother.” (Grade 1)
“I got to attend school in my pajamas.” (Grade 7 )
“That the world made it out of this. It’s pretty cool we lived through history.” (Grade 10)
