Online schooling is a very different way to learn for most people and it is normal to feel anxious about communicating at first 鈥� even adults feel nervous speaking and communicating in class in the beginning.
Emily wrote the below when she was a year 9 OAC student at the Marden campus. Emily has used her amazing talent to illustrate how the daily routine of saying 鈥淗i鈥� to the teacher can be a trigger for anxious thoughts and feelings.
鈥淎 few months ago, I wanted to tell my teacher how I feel during the lesson (we were in a well-being lesson and the teachers were telling us that we can tell them of any problem that we are having with class and stuff like that,) and I was like yeah that's a good idea, but then when it came down to sending the email, I just froze, and I felt embarrassed, so I deleted the email. Three months on and it is November (still hadn't told anyone)and I decided that a comic would be the perfect way to tell my teacher how I felt; It combined my art (which helps me calm down, and I get to listen to music which is the best during art.) I came up with the morning greetings that we do, and how I always stuff up in some way, whether it is that my mic is not near my mouth, I stutter, or I'm busy or distracted so I don鈥檛 hear my name being called and I feel really embarrassed. I wanted to show this with my drawing. I thought it would be easier to show someone how I felt instead of telling them, because sometimes there are just not enough words to describe the humiliation or embarrassment (I also knew people would relate to it).鈥�
Emily learned to trust her teacher with her feelings. When asked why she trusted her teacher she said:
鈥�My teacher is sooo friendly. If I could go back to term 1, I would tell him all this stuff at the start of the year, so I didn鈥檛 have to carry all this pressure of worrying and stuff like that. Also if I could go back, I would love to tell him that he is the best teacher in the world, even if he does deny it. Whenever I have a question, he鈥檒l help me, and even if I just want to share stuff, like my art, he鈥檚 okay with it. I actually taught myself calculus and matrices, and he鈥檚 impressed, and I鈥檓 like, well it鈥檚 because of you. You taught me all the math鈥檚 I learned this year, and I just expanded by learning different math鈥檚 (I hope this makes sense). Another thing is, No one knows my real personality, When I go into the lesson, I just freeze, and become a robot. If they were to meet me, I am funny (sort of), I love to talk what I鈥檓 passionate about, and I鈥檓 more caring than anything.鈥�
Communicating with your teacher and classmates should get easier with time and practise. If it doesn鈥檛, here are some things you can try:
If you鈥檝e tried these things and they don鈥檛 seem to work, you can talk to your parents and/or the OAC Student Wellbeing Leader about a communication plan for learning. You could also try some of these links:
Parents and caregivers wanting to support their children to communicate more confidently can contact their Student Wellbeing Leader, health professional or find out more by looking at these links:
Last updated: 13 November 2024