Mental health issues have become much more common over the past two years. It was tough for everyone, students, parents, and even teachers.  While covid cases are still relevant, we have moved forward slowly, but surely. Even after moving on, the mental destruction stays.

Being isolated from others has affected students’ learning and the way teachers teach. “It was harder to get kids to focus and also, relate to them,” WMS 6-8 math teacher, Mr. Catalano said. 

“Most students had their cameras off,” WMS 8th grade math teacher, Mr. Maneri said. “I’m good at reading facial expressions and telling when a student is struggling in person but online, it was impossible.” 

Ms. Nardoza, a WMS science teacher explained, “When we were all remote, it was more difficult for everyone to focus because we were all in our homes and in our PJs.”

Virtual learning is considered one of the “bumps in the road” and it took a while for teachers and students to adjust to hybrid learning. However, now we are back in person and almost back to “normal.”

Mr. Maneri said, “Things will never go back to how they were before COVID, this is our new normal.”

Our future generations will never be able to experience what the “old normal” was; the pandemic definitely had a big impact on everyone. Mr. Maneri stated, “How everyone was affected by COVID and how it was a question of how hard it was.” He then explained how adults aren’t the same anymore. 

Since we have been isolated for an abnormal period of time, people have forgotten how to communicate, express themselves, and get back into the swing of things. 

Ms. Pastor, a WMS teacher explained that she believes she has more anxiety than she used to. “We’re not used to being in that social situation anymore.”

She also shared, “Teachers aren’t allowed to have days like that or show any emotion”, after being asked if she’s ever had days where she felt too drained to teach. This shows a rare side of the teachers perspective that you never really get to see because they put their kids and lessons in front of everyone when they step into this building. 

Mr. Catalano expressed that he loves teaching, however, it’s a bit more difficult now, “I think a lot of times people have forgotten that teachers are humans and not robots.” He said that if he feels frustrated during teaching, he expresses that with his class and they usually find a way around the problem. 

Mrs. Cioffi, a math teacher here at WMS, explained the empathy she feels for her students, “It’s just very overwhelming, feeling your own feelings and feeling other people’s feelings.” This factor can contribute to teachers’ bad days or make them feel like the lessons could be too overwhelming for their students if they feel like they’re having a bad day. 

Many of these teachers feel as though students look at teachers like robots, meaning they don’t understand that they can have bad days as well. 7th and 8th-grade language arts teacher Mr. Guidetti explained, “People tend to forget that we have mental issues and stressors.” 

Remember, everyone is human and everyone deserves to be treated with respect. Next time, think twice before actin