With so many different factors affecting students during the COVID-19 pandemic, students should not be expected to meet the same standards. Many students are struggling immensely during the pandemic to fulfill all of their requirements, from new family duties to learning online to being kept away from their peers for months.

As many researchers have already said, pandemics can be extremely stressful, especially for children and adolescents. One of the largest parts of most children and teenagers’ lives was taken away from them in March—on-site schooling. This left many students to be taught by parents, or even just teaching themselves new content. Although this has mostly changed during this school year, students are struggling to keep up with school because they have shortened class periods, and many cannot easily learn without hands-on experiences.

In addition to the academic stress of school during the pandemic, students are not able to see their friends on a daily basis because they are not able to be at school everyday, which is how many students kept in contact with friends. Without the support system given by friends, many students are trying to cope on their own, which is hard to do when you’ve relied on your friends for so long.

I need to be very clear when I say this: I am not advocating for going back to school right now, because it is unsafe to do so without proper protections. Especially because I have family members with existing health conditions, I know that going back to school should not be done any time soon. However, this pandemic is extremely stressful for students, so they should not be held to the same standards as years past.

Because of the pandemic, many people lost their jobs, including many parents. This has caused some students to have to step up and get their own job(s) to help with their family’s finances. The stress that comes from an unemployed parent is immense, and should not be held against a student if they are having trouble balancing all of the aspects of their life during this time.

Others have had to work more to make ends meet financially because of the pandemic, which has also caused many students to have to take care of themselves and their siblings. Trying to act as an adult when you’re still just a child or adolescent is hard, and trying to do so when so many parts of your life are changing, from not being able to go to school on ground to the majority of the world being shut down, is even harder.

Students should not be expected to meet the same expectations as past years because they have so much to deal with during this time. With so much unknown in the world, students should not feel even more stressed by school than ever before. Students need to have more flexibility during this time in order to prioritize their mental health and reduce stress.