Interviewer: Siena Iwasaki Milbauer
COVID-19 has forced our communities to adapt and evolve in radical and often challenging ways. Education is an obvious arena where the necessary changes have been big and bold. To get a clearer picture of the situation, we’ve been talking with Asian American Minnesota youth about their 2020 school experiences. In this second entry of a multi-part series, we interview high school senior Saylia.
Please introduce yourself!
Saylia: My name is Saylia Moo. My pronouns are she/her/hers. I’m currently a senior at Highland [Park Senior high school].
What happened to your academics in the spring, when the pandemic first hit the US?
Saylia: I think the most difficult adjustment for the students and also for the teachers was just trying to understand what was going on. I didn’t know if school was completely [done], or if there was still stuff going on. For a good week, we had nothing coming in because teachers were still trying to figure out what to do. To a point, it [distance learning] felt like a break that went on forever, into this year. And then this year, this feels like a break, but a break with a ton of work on top of it.
I think something that I like about distance learning is that I have more space in my schedule to make things possible. [But] Fridays don’t feel amazing anymore. It [has gotten] really hard to manage that today is not a rest day, [or] “Okay, it’s the weekend now. Free time!” It’s just hard to separate things now.
What is your school’s current structure for the fall 2020 semester? How is that structure working or not working for you?
Saylia: [School is still online]. It’s a lot different now [versus the spring]. We have mandatory class. I think [that] works for me, knowing that at this time I have to be at this class, at this time I can do work, and so on. But it’s a lot different from in-person schooling. You don’t really learn during those times meeting with teachers, because you’re just watching this lecture go on and it’s not interactive. They try to make it interactive, but everyone has their camera turned off, [so] it’s really hard. [So] even after the lecture is over, I still have to go back and look over the textbook by myself and teach myself what was meant to be taught to me during that lecture.
From 8am to 8pm I’m in my room. I’m not even leaving it. That is not mentally healthy, but that’s what it ends up being. For the entire morning, you’re trying to grasp everything, teach yourself everything. And then for the rest of the evening, you’re doing all the homework.
There’s also a lot of pressure that I put on myself, which isn’t the best. But as a person who is a senior now and is worried about college and money, getting good grades is something that really needs to be met.
What are your hopes and fears for the future of your education?
Saylia: I think something that would be really nice is just having a place to be able to do work. Being able to go into school, not [to] have regular schooling, just being able to go into a space to do work. [If] you could sign up for a time to be in the building or something, I think that would be really nice.
I used to enjoy school so much. [And now,] I’m just stressed. Right now, it is just super hard for a lot of students. There’s a good amount of students who are taking it [distance learning] really well, and there’s a good amount of students who aren’t taking it very well. But at the same time, we have no choice but to get through it.