Remote learning has become vital in the academic world as a response to the coronavirus pandemic. For some, the transition has been smooth. For others, exasperating (you’re not alone if you’ve thrown your hands up in frustration once … or multiple times).

A recent Common Sense media survey of nearly 850 teens (ages 13 to 17) finds that this type of learning has not been fully embraced to this point.

Excerpt from NPR story:

There is a big gap between public and private school students in the survey, with 47% of public school students saying they have not attended a class, compared with just 18% of private school students.

The survey suggests the nation’s young people also have a lot on their minds to distract them from online learning. It found that 4 out of 5 teens say they’re following news about the coronavirus pandemic closely. More than 60% said they are worried that they, or someone in their family, will be exposed to the virus and that it will have an effect on their family’s ability to earn a living. Those numbers were significantly higher among teenagers of color.

Jose Luis Vilson, a middle school teacher in the Washington Heights section of New York City, says those findings echo what he’s seeing among his students. “You think about the vast majority of the kids, they’re going through their own levels of stress,” he said.

Engaging them right now, in a city that has been at the center of one of the worst outbreaks of the coronavirus, he added, is challenging, and not just for technical reasons: “There are hundreds of cases just within the school district that I work in of COVID-19.”

And, Vilson adds, many of those students have parents or family members who are essential workers, such as nurses, doctors and home health care aides. “So really, we as educators have to be mindful of all those things.”

NOTE: The Indiana Chamber has a statewide employer coronavirus resources page – www.indianachamber.com/coronavirus – which provides information under three umbrellas: Health, Tools You Can Use and Government and Community Assistance.

Symone Skrzycki is the senior communications manager for the Indiana Chamber. She is also a senior writer for the Chamber’s award-winning BizVoice magazine and has been with the organization for 19 years.