With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing schools to change how they deliver classes, the Bendigo Advertiser has asked students to share how they are adapting.
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Catherine McAuley College year 12 student Charlotte Brook tells us how learning from home has impacted her family.
For my family, remote learning has had negatives and positives. I have two other siblings that are completing education from home as well. We try to keep silent because there is always someone in a class, but it is not always possible. I have progressed through lots of work, I have completed SACS and tests at home. There are still challenges and problems that occur, but my teachers are doing so well at trying to teach us, so a big thank you to them.
I have an older brother that is in the second year of his university degree in engineering. He only returned to university for two weeks, before his campus closed and he was sent home. He knows that all his classes are online for the first semester but is still awaiting confirmation for how his classes will continue for the second semester.
For my mother, she would like us to return to school. She is not fond of home schooling, because it is frustrating to keep my little brother focused and completing his schoolwork. Being at home, there are many distractions but it has allowed her to see the content that we learn at school.
I am completing SACS at home under VCAA guideline, which my mum must supervise. An example of this is the subject VCE French for which I often have vocabulary tests. My mum is emailed the answers from my French teacher, so she can correct the work, then send the results back to my teacher.
My dad is happy that he goes to work each day and does not have to work in the house during school time. I have a little brother that is in grade five. For him, he was very excited to start home schooling, but the notion has since faded. In an online class last week, he asked his teacher when he can get back to school to see his friends and do his school work in class because he does not like it at home. My little brother is very active and always moving around but, being at home, he is unable to use all his energy, even though we go on daily walks and runs.
Fellow Catherine McAuley College year 12 student Tania Hutchinson has also noticed the changes.
Home life has become very different since we've started studying from home. My mum is currently working from home, doing group activities over the phone for her Vision Australia clients. She's taken up her 'office' in the dining room, leaving my brother and I to study in our bedrooms.
Every now and then, my brother and I get involved with her group calls. My brother will sometimes play guitar and sing for them while I've given some French lessons. It gives a nice break to our studying and it's lovely to hear the elderly clients happy and entertained.
We are both finding home-based learning pretty easy going, except my brother does have trouble getting himself out of bed on time for his 9am classes. As a family, we are trying to make the best of this time by using our free time to have movie afternoons together, do jigsaw puzzles, go for walks or work on our hobbies - my brother with his music, and I with reading and writing.
Are you a year 12 student who would like to share your experience of studying during a pandemic? Send your story to addynews@bendigoadvertiser.com.au
