Community Voices by Angelina Gutierrez: Despite the challenges during pandemic, students strive to learn online

Seven months into the pandemic, and each of us has had to adjust in different ways

By Angelina Gutierrez

Angelina Gutierrez

As I sit here on a Sunday morning sipping my pumpkin spice flavored coffee, thoughts of life before the pandemic play through my mind. I don’t need to tell you how different things are now. In the “before virus” life I worked as a substitute teacher for the Gilroy Unified School District. In the “after virus” life I struggled to find work. Seven months into the pandemic, and each of us has had to adjust in different ways.

By now we have all the rules down. No shaking hands, no hugging, try your best to stay six feet apart. Does hugging my senior citizen mom still count?  What about my sister who lives down the street? Can I hold her newborn baby? So many questions have left our hearts a bit more sensitive than they were before this whole thing began. As we’ve settled into this not-so-new way of life, I’ve especially been in awe with the resilience the youth have shown. These young lives have been turned upside down just as ours have. One day they were going to school and before they knew what was going on, they were told no one was allowed back.

At first, it was like a vacation, but days turned into weeks and weeks into months and the feeling of vacation was over.

When school started again in August, how odd it must have felt for them. Still, they did their best. Moving into the month of September there were continued changes they had to get used to. Friends were missed. The online Zoom sessions were confusing. Students couldn’t concentrate over their dogs barking, siblings throwing paper balls and the Wi-Fi giving them issues. Plenty of kids have been left to themselves and their Chrome books, as their dedicated parents have had to work during the day. My husband, a teacher at Gilroy High School, told me how he’s amazed at the determination these students have in spite of their circumstances. I’ve heard adults say before that they could never do online college because of the discipline it would take them to attend school without being in a classroom setting and lacking the accountability in person. We have some young, assertive people among us who are doing exactly that.

Of course, I must also praise the teachers and everyone involved. They worked countless hours to make this whole thing possible, and they are the other superheroes in this story. The teachers do it because they know the challenges the children are facing are going to turn them into successful adults.

Remember the youth. Send a text, make a phone call or smile at them in the grocery store and let them know what a great job they’re doing. We are fortunate it’s these determined children who will be leading our future onward.

Angelina Gutierrez is a substitute teacher in Gilroy.