By Jessica Gregory
The 23rd of March this year brought education a whole new look, with online lessons and an independence students had never had before. Although this brought many positives for some (I know from my own experience that the early finishing hours were a bonus), it brought many issues to others.
The fact is, with new lockdown restrictions now imposed upon us, it wouldn’t be so wild as to imagine another complete lockdown, such as in March. I’m sure there are students up and down the country that would love another lockdown, but that there are many who would dread it. So, I decided to speak to a current student to find out.
When asking about her lockdown experience, she explained to me her life was more stressful than it usually was, and that lockdown meant she had to catch up on lots of homework during her summer holidays.
Moreover, her laptop was too slow, and she had no Wi-Fi- although she did manage to find a solution to both of these. Being in Year 10 now, this meant that her school allowed her to drop all subjects she wasn’t carrying through to GCSE.
She said “it’s a difficult one” as to whether she would have preferred being at school during lockdown. She told me she didn’t want people to die, but the break was good for relaxation and contemplation.
Although she says she feels safe, she said some rules contradict themselves a lot, but that it was necessary for pupils to continue attending school.
I then asked if she would like another lockdown, such as the one in March. In reply, she told me she doesn’t want another lockdown. She said another lockdown would help and “hinder”, and that it’s a very real thing that people are dying from coronavirus (on the 14th November, 462 people died in the UK), but she believes we have to go on. We can’t cancel youth and learning, considering not everyone is as able to work from home as others. Adding to this, she told me that PE and food tech would be hard to do at home.
She feels as though if there were to be another lockdown, people would be a lot more fed up, and they wouldn’t take the rules as seriously if there were to be another. However, she believes we should still all wear face masks and use hand sanitiser.
She said to me it was worrying that some people are stuck in domestic violence households, and that “life could get worse”. According to her, she says it’s unreasonable to expect everyone to stay at home without exceptions- such as those in violent relationships.
Interestingly, she doesn’t believe the government are handling the pandemic too well either, explaining that they are terrible at giving people support. In fact, she wishes we were more like New Zealand- a country whose case level dropped down to 3 on the 14th November, compared to 26,860 in the UK.
Finally, she strongly believes that the NHS deserves a pay rise- she said she would rather that taxes went to that and that we cut the monarchy’s money. She also added that instead of MPs spending £25 on lunches, that we should give to the NHS pay rise and feed the children.
Everyone has had many varied views on the previous lockdown (I’m sure there are parents out there who are tired of home-schooling) and everyone may have differing views on another complete lockdown. However, all we can continue to do is follow government guidance, and hopefully, after December 2nd , we may not even need another complete lockdown.
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