Impact of Covid-19 on the performance of High School Students in New York
Covid-19, also known as Coronavirus, is an infection of the pulmonary system caused by a virus. It affects human beings in divergent forms. When infected with Covid-19, an individual is likely to experience minor illness and recovery without being hospitalized. Covid-19 has the following symptoms: dry cough, body weakness, fever, body aches and pain, loss of smell and taste, among many other symptoms. There is still research on the origin of the virus; some scientists believe it came from animals. It is transmitted among people who contact air droplets from coughing and sneezing by infected people. Coronavirus presence in the human body is identified using antigen testing and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). It was first reported in China in 2019 but has since spread and become a global pandemic. On 20 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Coronavirus a global epidemic. Coronavirus has affected the progress and overall performance of high school students across the globe. When the pandemic hit the United States of America, institutions of learning, including high schools, were closed, interrupting the school calendar. The Coronavirus pandemic affects gender, education, psychology, health, socio-economic, and physical features of high school students. The mentioned factors affect a high school student’s expected performance between 12-16 years old. Students and teachers were not able to move, the operation of high schools came at a standstill. Some institutions switched to online learning. This dissertation analyzes the impact of Coronavirus on the performance of high school students between 12-16 years in the USA and specifically New york as an example.
Covid-19 is here with us, and it has threatened the economy more than a recession can do. In different parts of the world, the economy has been at a standstill, and this has had impacts on employment and salaries which people receive from their employer. There is a direct impact Covid-19 has had on the rate of employment in the New York States especially the teachers which lead to students going home thus affecting the normal system of education which lead to poor grades and increase in crimes. Due to this virus, people have lost their employment for various reasons. When it was clear that the virus was in the city, people had to take caution, and hence, they made fewer outings. This implied that the rate of traffic flow to businesses reduced drastically. With a reduced rate of traffic customers, businesses were not able to meet their target profits. Therefore, to reduce the cost of operation. Laying people off was the first option for employers (Kawohl & Nordt, 2020). Therefore, people lost their jobs from their employer as a strategy to reduce operation costs by employers. Moreover, businesses were struggling to pay their employees even when they accepted fate and decided to retain their employees. Therefore, employees were indefinitely hired until the economy will be back to normal. This was hurting the economy of the city because these workers are consumers in other businesses, and hence applying them off was affecting their businesses as well.
After the COVID-19 epidemic started and distant education became the ‘new normal,’ I had a false impression of a heavier effort, which prevented me from seeing an increase in performance. This is because my subject is more practical; therefore, I’ve been in physical education courses my whole school career. My major worries throughout the lockdown were my future professional job and academic problems. I was irritated, nervous, and bored in particular while studying practical topics like Anatomy and Organic Chemistry. Besides, our institution purposely created time for consultation and inquiries about different subjects (Burgess, 2020).
Coronavirus has affected both genders of boys and girls between the ages of 12-16 years in the USA high schools. Research by different scientists has shown that males are more likely to be infected by Coronavirus than females. Covid-19 infects boys more than girls (Bwire, 2020). Boys are more likely to be infected by Coronavirus than girls because boys have high mortality and morbidity. To add on, boys have higher angiotensin-converting enzyme levels (the receiver of Coronavirus) than girls (Bwire, 2020). According to Zhong et al. (2020), men have low adherence to Covid-19 preventive measures compared to women. Boys are not consistent in observing COVID-19 regulations; they are more exposed to public gatherings and outdoor events than women. As a result, more boys in high schools get infected and lose their lives than girls.
The academic performance of high school students has been adversely affected by the spread of Coronavirus. Many states ordered or advised public and private high schools to close down to manage the spread of Coronavirus. Lockdowns and travel restrictions limited high school student’s mobility (Martel, 2020). Scheduled tests and exams were postponed after the closure of schools (Onyema et al., 2020). Many teachers and learners relied on technological infrastructure to continue with educational progress online. Online learning was interfered with by unstable infrastructure such as power, network, and digital skills limitations. Academic performance of students dropped due to limited access to learning facilities like libraries. Students studying from home faced many distractions and could not easily focus and concentrate on their studies. Infected students could not attend classes at all, thus experiencing a setback in their economic progress. Lack of discussion groups and one on one teacher consultations imparted high school student’s performance. Students who could not access online services due to poor network or power had difficulty resuming online education. Research conducted by Onyema et al. (2020) shows that Covid-19 disrupted learning, limited access to research and learning facilities, and high student debts. High school students dropped out of school, lost interest in learning, and faced prolonged studies. Some high schools may not reopen in the USA for the remaining academic year (Martel, 2020). Since there is no permanent solution to manage the COVID-19 pandemic, its effects on high school children could last longer as the measures to contain the spread of COVID-19 are enhanced.
Furthermore, Coronavirus has affected high school students psychologically. High school students were most affected with stress, depression, child-parent conflicts, and loneliness in quarantine, and anxiety (Tang et al., 2021). In China, COVID-19 affected high school students mentally (Zhang et al., 2020). High school students who were exposed to COVID-19 experienced traumatic expressions and poor health mentally. Psychological trauma among 14-to 16-year-old high school students resulted in symptoms of posttraumatic stress (Yang et al., 2020). The USA government put strict measures to contain Coronavirus, which resulted in the closing of learning institutions, confinement of high school students at home, and mobility restrictions; these restrictions have led to the development of psychological issues among high school children. Stress in high school students could lead to a lack of focus in school. Depression is not common among high school students; when it occurs, a student’s future is at stake. Teenagers with sleep disorders experienced insomnia. Anxiety among high school children has some adverse effects; for example, anxious students get involved in careless behavior like random sex and video game addiction. A study case has revealed that parental support compensates for the harmful effects of violence among high school students in the USA. Students are more satisfied in school than at home. This study encourages parents to have more open talks with their children about Coronavirus and its effects on managing psychological instability.
Nonetheless, there are health effects of COVID-19 which have imparted high school students in the USA. COVID-19 virus has an incubation time of 5 to 6 days after contact and could last up to 14 days. Hospital treatment of COVID-19 leaves the patient with acute health effects. Server infection of COVID-19 could damage body organs. Hospitalization of high school students leads to loss of school time and setbacks on academic progress; sometimes, students do not manage to catch up. The cost of hospitalization and treatment of Coronavirus is considerably high, considering the infection has no cure. High school students within the age of 12-16 with underlying conditions such as asthma, cancer, HIV, and diabetes face a risk of death when exposed to the virus; these students should be highly protected from exposure to Coronavirus. Reopened high schools are supposed to observe preventive measures to protect students. Although 12-16-year-olds have stronger immunity than adults, students need to keep preventive measures to manage infection. COVID-19 has killed many people in the USA, among them high school students aged between 12-16 years. COVID-19 infection among high school students put their parents and the people in the neighborhood at risk of getting infected.
Finally, this study discusses the physical and social-economic impact of COVID-19 among high school students. High school students now have to wash hands regularly, observe social distancing and put on masks in school. Students are required to be very cautious and alert to report suspicious COVID-19 cases. COVID-19 has increased poverty globally. Coronavirus has made many parents lose jobs in the United States of America; high school students from these families have been displaced and even dropped out of school. Some students have become street children and beggars. Quarantines have experienced an increase in domestic violence in many families; these environments affect high school students’ growth and destabilize them. Many girls have gotten pregnant, thus interfering with their academic lives; some of them permanently drop out of school. Drug abuse among high school students has been on the rise during the Coronavirus pandemic due to idleness. Students who abuse drugs are affected mentally and lose concentration in school. There has been an increase in crime due to a rise in poverty among high school students. Bankruptcy has increased among high school students. High school students who were COVID-19 patients face stigma among their peers. The socio-economic and physical performance of high school students during the COVID-19 pandemic may hinder the production of 12-16-year-old high school students.
In conclusion, COVID-19 has affected the education, gender, psychology, health, social-economic, and physical state of high school-going children in the United States of America. The county governments in the USA either advised or ordered high schools to close during lockdowns and travel restrictions. The measures put in place by the USA government to fight the spread of Coronavirus have affected the psychological performance of high school students leading to depression, stress, sleep disorders, and psychological trauma. Adults need to engage high school students aged between 12-14 years in Coronavirus-related talks to assist them in managing psychological trauma. High school students have an increased risk of getting infected with Coronavirus. Students who have low immunity are more exposed and could face fatality when infected with Coronavirus. Coronavirus infection could damage body organs permanently. Coronavirus is a pandemic with dire adverse effects among high school students. High schools need to assess the risks, propose proper guidelines, and recommend safety measures to reopen to resume normalcy. Students who experience severe health and psychological issues should attend clinic and therapy sessions to recover from the trauma they face and resume learning. The USA government should allocate adequate funds and proper guidelines to high schools to enable safe reopening and operation.
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