School is for the growth of a young person’s ability to understand. It’s a fancy way of saying that school is for learning. While the original phrase is good-natured, one simple change turns it into the most truthful definition of school possible: school is for growth. Academic growth is certainly achievable during the school day but so is social, cultural, societal, and personal growth. Without recognizing every kind of growth a teen experiences, the definition of high school can never be fully accurate. An average school day in 2023 presents a teenager with many opportunities for growth.
In 2020 the world went on pause. The growth normally experienced inside the school building was disrupted. Teenagers enjoyed it at first, an extra long spring break was a dream. Then it turned into summer and school never went back in session that academic year. No responsibility and a lot of free time seems very liberating for a teen but in a climate where they couldn’t leave their house, it was suffocating. The social and cultural growth normally achieved at school was done digitally, leaving this generation of teens extra reliant on their cell phones. Upon returning to the physical classroom, the digital dependency did not disappear.
Evert Nelson/Capital-Journal
When going back to school in the fall of 2020, every cough was a threat, every person missing from class was an enemy, and every negative test result was a sigh of relief. The already stressful school life coupled with the worry of getting COVID-19 turned high school into a minefield of nerves. One wrong step and the stress could blow up in the face of an unsuspecting teen just trying to get by. Having become so dependent on technology, students clung to their phones like a life-line. Although they were able to be in the classroom it was uncertain how much the students were actually learning with a screen in front of their face during instruction. Many students did not learn how to responsibly use a phone inside the classroom due to the pandemic and the leniency that most teachers had when returning to the building. It was a difficult time for teens and teachers alike but the growth in responsibility was less likely to happen because students were less likely to get in trouble for having their phone out or turning in an assignment three weeks late.
The pandemic severely hindered teens’ opportunities of growth and the repercussions are still being felt in classes today. Students are more distracted than ever but there will always be room to grow.