Virtual Exams & Mental Health

Due to COVID-19, schools around the globe have decided to start teaching remotely and teachers have had to adopt new ways of teaching that fit remote learning. Dr. Malley, the principal of Pleasant View School states, “Our experiences in doing this have been both challenging and insightful. Challenging because it is forcing us as a school and especially as teachers to rethink the way that we have been doing things and sometimes radically change the methods we are using to achieve our teaching objectives. Insightful because in doing this we are coming to see ways to achieve these objectives that are sometimes superior to the methods we had become accustomed to in the past.” For the first time, semester exams were taken online as many teachers and students were not comfortable with coming to school for in-person exams. Nonetheless, there have been differences in opinion throughout the school on how students felt about online testing this year. Multiple students like it better since they are in the comfort of their home; however, many others think it’s very distracting. In order to keep students from stressing out too much, most students had only one or two exams throughout finals week. For their other classes, teachers gave them review assignments or supplemented their grades in other ways. Dr. Malley said, “This is for the mental health and well-being of our students. We don’t want students to become too stressed about their finals week. Having only one or two tests and perhaps one or two other projects or papers will hopefully be less stressful than having to cram for six or seven final exams.”

Dr. Malley says, “As we go into the next semester in January, we encourage everyone to keep this in mind and make routines and habits of frequently reviewing material so that there is not a need to spend too much time and effort at the end of the semester.” Pleasant View School administration and teachers continue to work hard to make sure students are learning and retaining what they learn and ensure students are not overburdened by exams and school work.