COVID significantly impacted the educational system after quarantining, creating a learning gap. As a student who had to experience being taught remote learning, I felt clueless the second I had to return to in-person teaching as I learned nothing online. Being forced to switch to online school had many problems, including technical difficulties, severely impacting families short on money. During this year of remote learning, I felt as if I couldn’t stay focused, and with the access to technology, I quickly got distracted and played games instead of doing my work. 
The lack of face-to-face interactions with teachers also made it difficult for students to properly get help on topics they didn’t understand,l which widened the learning gap. School was also a social setting where students could interact with their friends and engage in school activities and projects. Still, with all that gone, students felt disconnected from the “outside world” and would sit on their computers all day. The COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted students mentally,y as being trapped inside a house all day can have a lasting effect on students who aren’t able to live their everyday lives. Studies show that after quarantine, students impacted by remote learning had significantly lower scores and lower ability to comprehend new material being taught, forcing teachers to teach slower to help students understand. An average student has lost about ⅓ of the school year’s teachings, which is several months of their lives they will never be able to return. Since teachers would also hide behind a screen all day, there was a significantly severe lack of staff as the students required more attention, and teachers got paid less for doing less work. Working 24/7 on the computer has taught students to become lazier, often resulting in frequent cheating on assignments. Students were tempted to take hiding behind a screen to their advantage and search for all the answers to their ħomework.
By not learning the direct material, students were found to be about a year behind, which has left a scar on everyone. Teachers must stray from their original teachings and adapt to approximately a year behind to ensure their students are adequately prepared for their future. Studies show that students need about 4.5 months to fully catch up on math and reading. Kids are now being encouraged to attend summer school or additional classes outside of school to gain back the information they lost while also being forced to retain the new ones they have learned. The government has donated millions of dollars to help the affected students of the pandemic., However, giving more money to the schools doesn’t benefit the students as they are not the ones gaining the cash or the teaching but the teachers who are getting paid.
