By Angélica Anaya ¡Supérate! Fundación Poma Values Teacher. Translated by Roberto Caballero ¡Supérate! Fundación Poma English Teacher.
In this season of social distancing and home quarantine due to COVID-19, all students worldwide have had to establish a new daily routine and modify the way they attend and interact in class and deliver assignments.
Changes are always difficult at the beginning, as it involves going through an adaptation stage with new methodologies and platforms in addition to the challenges of finding the right place of study, Internet access and the emotional burden of not interacting directly with colleagues and friends.
Even though , we can find the positive side in this sudden change: You, ¡Supérate! students, are developing essential skills for the future, both for studying and for working.
Overall, in the transition from school to university, the biggest challenges college students face are adjusting to managing their time and developing independent study skills. The schedule structure in the institute or school is similar from Monday to Friday within a certain schedule, only in the morning or in the afternoon; while in college, the class schedule can be different each day, as well as having classes at different times. Moreover, the academic load of college subjects requires students to designate time outside of the classroom to review and extend study material, in addition to time to complete projects and class work and group meetings.
Learning doesn't just take place in the classroom and it does not end with graduation from school or college. Both for those who work in an organization or have their own entrepreneurship, working life involves continuing to learn, to know work processes and tools and also to keep abreast of the latest trends in the labor market.
There is a lot of talk about the great changes of the digital age and it is at this time that we can have a direct look at those changes. For example, the offer of virtual, blended and distance careers has been increasing in recent years in Salvadoran universities. Similarly, many companies begin to make the permanent transition to remote working modalities or offer their products and services online.
Being successful in these changes implies having skills like the ones you are developing in this quarantine: time organization, flexibility, innovation, personal motivation, creativity, being self-taught, in addition to managing various communication and computer tools. Regardless of whether you study or work in person or remotely in your future, developing these skills and adapting to change will make you stand out as a professional.
It has been a different time of study, which has required extra effort and patience, but your hard dedication will definitely pay off in your present and your future.