A student sits with their back slouched in a chair. They stare at the screen blankly as the teacher assigns yet another piece of homework that they have no motivation to do. Running their hands through their hair as they close the Zoom, thinking of the piles of work that they feel is running their life. They’re scared to be in their rooms because they associate it with school.

Havanna Witte, a sophomore at MCHS is one of these students. Speaking of how online school has done nothing to help her mental health.

“It’s nice in the beginning because if you were feeling sad you could go and take a break,” she says, “but now it has been making my mental health worse.”

These trying times put so much on some students because, in addition to worrying about what will happen next with COVID, they are also worried about assignments and school. This adds to the pressures of daily life on the young minds of high schoolers. With little to do outside of their homes it is much harder to stay motivated.

Freshman Emma Garrett spent the start of her first semester of high school all online. Along with adjusting to high school, she is also adjusting to the online learning environment.

“I feel less motivated when waking up each morning,” she says. “Trying to get through school days is harder, and even staying focused can be a struggle.” Garrett says motivation being particularly hard to find while doing online schooling.

Many students find online school to be unengaging and hard to understand. Especially when pieces of information or directions can be lost in translation through technology. Technology issues are frequent and very aggravating with hazardous wifi and Zoom lagging.

“I get upset at myself for asking for help because something was poorly communicated across technology,” Garrett states.

Miscommunications are a common occurrence in the online learning environment, which making school more stressful for teachers and students alike.

Even in-school, a lot of students don’t like asking for help when directions are lost. Students not knowing their teachers well add to the stress of asking for help for their teachers.

Remote learning has affected the mental health of MCHS in many ways but, for some, it affects their emotional health as well as their motivation to do assignments. Online learning is new for everyone, and is hard for everyone as everyone has to relearn their way of doing things.