Distance learning has become the new normal, and most don’t like it. With distance learning, teachers and students are separated by a chasm; there is no direct line to communication. Some students fear the loss of interaction with a teacher, such as asking questions after class. Not being with peers is also having a negative impact on students and can contribute to anxiety, nervousness, and worry. The abrupt change in lifestyle and type of learning from home has left many students struggling with how to succeed academically. Teachers are equally stressed not being able to teach in person and make connections with their students. 

Although students and teachers complain about distance learning, the risks of returning to the classroom due to the Covid-19 pandemic are still very high. With new Covid-19 cases on the rise and a massive second surge expected this winter,  sending teachers and students back into the classroom is extremely dangerous because it will be impossible to maintain social distancing on campus. Distance learning is the safest option until the expected vaccine is available to the masses. Hopefully, by the second to third quarter of 2021 the environment will be safer with Covid 19 vaccines widely available. It will be much safer, for both teachers and students to be back on campus. Distance learning has been quite the challenge for all. To say the least. Even with access to technology, I feel disconnected from the world. Covid-19 has caused a dramatic shift in people and the world. The loss of hundreds of thousands to this disease is a reason itself as to why distance learning is the safest option for all students. It is not the right time to return to our usual lifestyles; however, I am hopeful that in the near future, I and many other students will be able to sit in a physical classroom again. Until then, we must continue to support and bring positivity to our local societies – from a distance. We must bring positivity and happiness to this isolation and continue to wait patiently for a vaccine to return to our typical lives.