In the year 2020 a pandemic reached global proportions; a novel virus sped throughout the globe and governments in most countries shut down parks, schools, playgrounds, bars, libraries, and malls.
In March of 2021 the earth’s heartbeat continues to say, “stay home; it’s a pandemic.” We must draw closer to our loved ones and work out all the kinks we’ve left to resolve until later; “later” is now.
“There’s nothing to do…” Grown-ups and kids alike say it often these days. Teens were already guilty of breathing this sentence hourly; during a year-long pandemic it is their constant outward breath.
I took a few hours this week to reach into some online and unschooled teens and preteens to find out how they are faring and how they’re getting interested in life during this difficult time. I met with three unschooled pre-teens Yoshi (9), Sunny (11), and Haley (11), and online student Lynn (16). They live in north-central North America and stopped traditional schooling a year before the pandemic struck. They were happy for the break during their boring, daily grind.
Me: As a preteen during a pandemic, what’s your typical day like?
H (scoffing and guffawing for a moment): Really?
S: Boredom. Eat, play outside, bake sometimes, read, invent; I draw a lot.
H: Yeah, boredom. That. And I watch shows, go outside and longboard or skate, and in the summer, I like swimming. I draw a lot and play on the piano. I learned Fur Elise in a week. I’m struggling to keep a routine, there’s just nothing to do.
Y (groans in agreement): I eat only p-b and jays, that’s all I like. I get bullied by my sisters too much; they’re bored. I do my job for Mom and have to sit around a lot. I sometimes watch YouTube or Netflix, and when it’s sunny outside I jump on the trampoline. I don’t want to do my job on sunny days, though. I like to swing on the swing and go for long walks with my dog. I really love going to the river to play, even in winter. We sled down to the river on snowy days.
Me: As a teen doing online school, what’s your typical day like?
L: Well, I drag myself out of bed, turn on my laptop, sit and listen to my teacher blabber on then I take a nap until Math. After my classes, I finish my homework, get a job around the house done, take my Bengal cat out to play and if it’s nice out I skate. The streets are covered in grit, though, I wish there was a local skate park or something to do for teens. There’s literally nothing to do. Every where is closed; only deniers are gathering in groups (she refers to mask deniers and Covid naysayers).
Me: What are some ways you have used to learn, since you’re not in a school being taught, daily?
Y: I build on Minecraft; Mom challenges me to make crazy buildings and creations. I read and watch anime and comic books. Mom makes me write stories sometimes, and I like looking for agates on long walks in nature. I play with my dog and cat; I like to teach them how to do tricks. Sometimes I play Othello with Mom, or sudoku; I like chess online.
S: Me, too. And I use Google to learn things. I use social media, too. Mom bought me a candy thermometer and we made caramel yesterday. It turned out so good. I want to learn how to make candy so I can start my own online candy business.
H: I look things up online and I like using Virtual Reality to explore. I’m opening an Etsy store to sell my artwork. It’s taking a while to figure out, I’m new to this sort of stuff.
L: I take long walks to explore new places and understand landscapes and geological formations; I use Google and social media to learn about things going on in the world and in our country. I’m studying Japanese and supplement it by watching a lot of anime. I turn off the English subtitles and instead try to understand by hearing and reading it in Japanese. Sometimes I just watch in Japanese; I’m getting pretty good.
Me: You mention you like online searching. Have you ever used a video to teach you something new?
L: Yeah, of course. I’m learning Algebra right now using videos. I learned how to make slime and perfect butter slime. When I was in school kids would trade big things for my butter slime. It was so smooth; I added vanilla to it so it smelled like cake dough. Oh yeah, I use TicTok to make friends and learn life hacks and new recipes. SnapChat keeps me in contact with a lot of my old and new friends, too.
Y: I learned how to swim by watching YouTube. I learned how to fix one of my toys. I also watch videos on animal body language and I’m learning tricks to teach my dog. I love LD ShadowLady, she’s a YouTuber. She’s great at Minecraft.
H: I learned how to draw realistically. I’m really good at eyes, now, I think. Water droplets, hair, eyes, and I learned origami, too. When I need help figuring out a part in piano or find some fact out, I use Google or ask my Mom. We googled watercolour painting techniques and made beautiful gifts for our winter holiday.
S: I like studying new art techniques like drawing eyes. I’m making drawings of my family as anime characters, and I love having drawing challenges with my sister. Today we both took a tangerine and turned it into an animal. Mine was a kitten; it was round and orange and cute; Haley’s was a giant cat, standing on it’s hind legs like a human, it was great. We have tons of books, but I hardly read them. I like the monthly tinker boxes our mom orders online for us. We’ve built a projector, an arcade style ball game, a paint spinner, and a robot so far. It’s really cool stuff. I’ve tried coding, but it’s hard. Mom gets us lots of stuff to learn with, and we can hit the library, too… well, when it opens again, we can.
After spending time with these children, listening to their speech and opinions on how things are in life, it seems kids from ages 9-16, like their elders, are well aware of the world around them; traditionally schooled or not. Like adults, they’re also looking for something to keep their roving minds occupied. “I’m bored” can be received with deep sighs and exasperation or met with reception and challenge.
Children are human, just like adults; they have feelings, hopes, dreams, and wishes to fulfill, but most of all they have needs. Forced to stay home, unable to gather in groups and socialize in the usual ways, they’ve learned to gather on apps like TicTok and SnapChat, and chat-rooms like Zoom, Hangouts and Discord. They’re innovative, playing videos, short clips, solving mysteries, and playing games and making friends with complete strangers from around the world. It’s a new way of Survival, but the rules are still the same: adapt or fall behind.
To a parent hearing “I’m bored,” I challenge you to turn it around and see your child not as nagging, not as banging an old gong, but as having to get a need met. Meet them; they’re accepting and hungry for something to do, especially during this impossible-to-be-certain-about pandemic.