Introduction
The current report summarizes and analyzes the interview conducted with a teenager who finished 8th grade this year. The interview was divided into three major themes: remote learning related to the Covid-19 outbreak, parental involvement in student’s life, and school bullying. The student provided sufficient responses that presented their unique perception of school life and allowed me to consider several ways of improving the educational system and teachers’ efficiency.
Remote Learning
In light of the recent outbreak of the global pandemic in the world, many students and teachers had to undergo much stress and anxiety related to remote education. Due to this, I asked the student about their experience with online classes, engagement, and cheating on tests. These questions were prompted by a recent study conducted on the effects of remote learning. The research concluded that the quality of digital content, cultural factors, digital inequality, and privacy have a significant negative impact on student engagement (Khlaif et al., 2021). After going through a short period of online schooling, the interviewed teenager shared their relief about returning to school. They felt awkward and uninterested in the remote learning program, could not focus on the tasks at hand, and were more likely to cheat on online tests than in-class ones. Based on their answers, I can conclude that remote learning requires much more effort to engage students, while online tests may not fully convey students’ understanding of the subject.
Parental Involvement
The next set of questions was aimed at identifying the middle school student’s attitudes toward parental involvement in their education. According to Boonk et al. (2018), home learning activities and parental expectations, reactions, and support of their children are studying significantly affect academic achievements. Due to this, the interviewed student was asked about their parents’ involvement, their interpretation of it, and their preference. The teenager explained that parents do not participate in their studies yet are supportive, encouraging, and happy with any academic grades; the student is satisfied with such a reaction and does not worry about failing classes. However, they note that when they overhear a teacher praising them to their parents, they feel extremely proud and become motivated to study harder. Such insight signals the importance of organizing meetings between a teacher, a student, and parents with the necessary inclusion of positive evaluation.
Bullying
Middle school is often a period in children’s lives when peer bullying and aggression are often encountered, creating a stressful and unsafe environment. Due to this, the student was interviewed about their experience and opinions about bullying to identify possible threats and prevention measures. They were happy to inform me that they have not had to deal with such instances; their peers are calm and friendly. The student believes it is so not because of school measures, such as posters that no one notices or class sessions that no one pays attention to, but because children try to control their emotions. They suggest that taking deep breaths or counting to ten helps calm down, which indicates that school measures are insufficient. Instead, encouraging a friendship-building environment and cooperative learning can significantly reduce bullying (Van Ryzin & Roseth, 2018). As such, teachers should implement these techniques to avoid children relying purely on their anger management.
Conclusion
The teenager who finished 8th grade this year was interviewed about their experience and opinion on remote studying, parental involvement in education, and bullying. Due to their responses, I have learned much about student attitudes and reflected on improving school education. For example, online classes require more effort to engage children. Additionally, complementing a student’s academic achievements in a meeting with both parents and the student can motivate the latter. Lastly, most school bullying-prevention measures are inconspicuous; instead, teachers should encourage cooperative learning.
References
Boonk, L., Gijselaers, H. J., Ritzen, H., & Brand-Gruwel, S. (2018). A review of the relationship between parental involvement indicators and academic achievement.Educational Research Review, 24, 10-30. Web.
Khlaif, Z. N., Salha, S., & Kouraichi, B. (2021). Emergency remote learning during Covid-19 crisis: Students’ engagement.Education and Information Technologies, 26(6), 7033-7055. Web.
Van Ryzin, M. J., & Roseth, C. J. (2018). Cooperative learning in middle school: A means to improve peer relations and reduce victimization, bullying, and related outcomes. Journal of Educational Psychology, 110(8), 1192. Web.