This year has been unlike any other year for TDSB students. A student survey in the spring of 2020 and a recent student survey in the winter of 2021 has highlighted the successes and struggles across the city, mental health challenges many are experiencing, the connections with friends and family we are all missing, and the creative and innovative ways students are coping.
Students are sharing their experiences this year through student voice activities with staff, school assignments, stories on social media, and many others. This page is adding context to system-wide survey data by enriching the information with student voices. This is a living page – come back often to see how it evolves.
Students giving a voice to isolated virtual learners
Four Grade 8 virtual students from TDSB Learning Network 1 came together to create a video in hopes to be a voice for their peers who may feel silenced or forgotten because they are learning virtually and are separated from their peers in school. The video was created as a reminder to others that the students who are learning virtually still matter and are still students, even though they are working behind a screen.
Caydee, Yaffa, Isabel and Samadi are Grade 8 Students in the TDSB Virtual School, Learning Network 1, Class 8J. Most virtual students have been virtual since March 2020 and haven't seen their peers or teachers in person since then. The journey for the "I'm Still Here" video began after our Grade 8 Virtual Class participated in a talking circle to share their feelings about the ongoing pandemic and about the challenges of being virtual students. Four students came together to create this video in hopes to be a voice for their peers who may feel silenced or forgotten because they are learning virtually and are separated from their peers in school. The creation of this video gave the students a chance to express all of their pent-up thoughts and feelings into an honest conversation. The students then took raw clips from this conversation and edited them with images and an original song to support the message they were trying to convey. This video is a reflection of both the positive and negative aspects of virtual learning, and acts as a reminder to others that the students who are learning virtually still matter and are still students, even though they are working behind a screen.