When the Digital Learning Days (DLDs) were originally announced over the intercom at La Salle, senior Gili Kaptur Dejesus said she immediately thought, “I’m going to fail [my] senior year.”

“It was mostly my anxiety, but I knew,” she later said. “I knew these were going to be a big challenge for me.”

Kaptur Dejesus’ brother, Dante, is nine years old and has been diagnosed with ADHD and autism. She has been taking care of him for the majority of the time that they have been home since the COVID-19 pandemic. She hasn’t left the house since March 16 and is struggling to manage the balance. 

“He’s constantly wanting attention and wanting me to play with him, but, you know, school kind of makes that difficult,” Kaptur Dejesus said. 

On April 2, Kaptur Dejesus said she emailed all of her teachers to let them know about her current situation at home after having a particularly difficult day with her brother. “Right before his [online] therapy session, he had a meltdown,” Kaptur Dejesus said.

Because of this, she said that Dante’s therapist visited their home for the session rather than doing it online, meaning Kaptur Dejesus was unable to start her Digital Learning Day (DLD) schoolwork until around 6 p.m. 

“[Some] students have siblings, and they shouldn’t be spending so much time on school,” Kaptur Dejesus said. “I wish I could have more of that time with [my brother]… He asks me how long it will take, and I honestly can’t give him an answer because I never know these days.” 

Before COVID-19, students were able to manage their home life and school life by seeing and talking to their friends, either during school or while they participated in their extracurricular activities. But as more activities are being canceled and postponed, and classes are being completed fully online, many students are now at home without the social interaction they need to keep a healthy balance. 

“I find DLDs to be more stressful because there is less opportunity to relieve stress with friends,” said senior Ross Poteet, whose brother, Noah, is a sophomore at La Salle. “I didn’t expect to miss being at La Salle, but I definitely miss seeing my friends there every day.” 

Because of this lack of socialization, some students are finding it difficult to concentrate. “The most stressful part about them is that there are times when I can’t get motivated to do work … There’s at least one time per day where it’s almost impossible to finish up an assignment,” said freshman Bobby Brotherton, who has two siblings, ages six and 11. 

Junior Olivia Pisaneschi, whose two older siblings are both attending college, is completing her digital classes at home with her mother. “This is a huge shift for her and for me since she’s home while I am doing my work,” Pisaneschi said. “She is in our office space, which leaves me normally doing my work in my bedroom which can be more distracting.” 

Some students believe that fewer DLDs would relieve some of this stress at home. “I would definitely suggest fewer DLDs,” Poteet said. “It’s annoying that we started them so soon, because my friends who don’t go to La Salle have had no assignments for the last three or four weeks.” 

However, other students would rather have their DLDs now instead of continuing school into the summer, like Pisaneschi.

“It sucks to not be at La Salle,” Pisaneschi said. “This is a really long time to not be face to face with teachers and my friends… [However,] I would not change the amount of DLDs because I would not want to have to do school in the summer.” 

Brotherton agrees, and said that while he understands that the amount of DLDs La Salle has currently implemented is important for student’s education, he also finds it upsetting that he cannot be at La Salle during this time.

“Being away from La Salle this long, and knowing that there’s at least another month ahead, makes me feel a type of emptiness that I haven’t really experienced anywhere else,” he said. “[But] the best I can say is that I hope we don’t end up doing more.”

What has your experience been like with COVID-19 and the DLDs? Let us know.