Cooper Goes Online
With the outside world a ghost town, students are locked indoors because of the COVID-19 virus. Since students couldn’t go to school, Cooper brought school to you; online classes are now in full swing! Of course, this is new to everyone, and both teachers and students are adapting to their new learning environment from home. Everyone feels different about the new changes but this is truly for the benefit of everyone’s health.
Many people at Cooper expressed how grateful they are for the opportunity to still continue our education even during difficult times. We understand that some people do not have the resources we do and should consider ourselves lucky. However, of course there are difficulties that many students brought to my attention. The amount of assignments to try and make up for lost time is piling up on a lot of the Cooper students, and it’s beginning to seem even more challenging than if everything was normal. Some students like working in the comforts of their own home, and they like the freedom that they have with their time; some say that there are a multitude of distractions making it harder to focus.
Social distancing has taken a toll on everyone, and both students and teachers mentioned how much they miss physically being on campus and seeing their colleagues or peers/friends every day. But the Cooper community is making the best of the situation, and everyone is staying positive through a challenging time. We cannot wait to get back on campus once the coronavirus comes to a stop!
Here are some tips from Dr. Estrada on managing the transition:
- Develop and follow a daily schedule. Make sure to include physical activity, meals, social time, and self-care activities.
- If it works for you, do your schoolwork only in a designated place in your house so that you can have a sense of separation between home and school.
- Stay connected with your friends. Explore new ways to hang out virtually. If you used to have coffee with your friends at a coffee shop, for example, schedule a virtual coffee. At the same time, make sure you give yourself healthy breaks from technology.
- Identify and truly enjoy the positive aspects of the situation, such as getting some extra sleep.
- If you find yourself having too much free time, think about all those things you always wanted to do but didn’t have time for (from learning how to code to how to play an instrument or learning a new language…)
