It is a truth universally acknowledged that a teenager during quarantine is entirely unmotivated by the prospect of learning simply to learn. Work that goes ungraded and unentered into a gradebook seems useless. Boring. After all, who wants to slave away in front of a textbook for hours on end and not even get the six measly homework points you relied upon during first semester? 

Nevertheless, you can’t simply go six weeks without even thinking about the topics we study in class. All too soon, April 27 will arrive, and when it does, you don’t want to be entirely unprepared. Luckily, there are ways to practice and keep up with school-related things during quarantine while still having some fun.

History

There are countless historical novels written in the time periods we study during history. And if reading isn’t exactly your thing, there are even more movies about these time periods. If you enjoy documentaries, watch a documentary on a time period interesting to you. If you enjoy watching Taika Waititi put on the worst mustache ever created and pretend to be a fat Hitler for 2 hours, watch Jojo Rabbit (though perhaps don’t rely entirely upon the movie for your APUSH FRQ on WWII). There are countless historical movies at all of our fingertips—both historically accurate and inaccurate—and trust me, we have plenty of time to watch them.

Science

Science happens all around us, all the time. Simply thinking about why a soccer ball continues to fly through the air until it hits your brother’s face is thinking about physics. And if that kind of deep, philosophical thinking doesn’t float your boat, you could just as easily take to the kitchen and practice your chemistry by making up weird concoctions, cooking them, and observing how certain things react. Just don’t explode anything, and you’re good!

English

Okay, this one is pretty obvious: read! Reading can be fun, if you find a good book. While you read, you automatically adjust to grammar rules, learn how to write with parallel structure, and develop your own writing style. If you’re unmotivated to read on your own, form a book group with friends. Ranting about books with other people is fun and a good way to pass time. Audiobooks and podcasts are also great ways to familiarize yourself with grammar rules and pass the time during this quarantine. If nothing else, the simple act of turning on subtitles while you watch shows or movies still counts as reading!

Math

There are hundreds of fun sites on the Internet to practice math. Take to the Internet—I can assure that you’ll find at least one math game that is fun. And if not, another fun way to practice the math skills you’ve learned this year is by creating and exchanging messages or jokes with your friends to decode using math problems you create. There’s a million ways to practice math at any given moment. Count the amount of toilet paper in your house and calculate if you have enough to survive the apocalypse. GetMIT! Be imaginative! Math is cool!

Language

As primarily English-speakers, we have the sad, unfortunate misconception that English television is the only good source of television there is. It is not. There are hundreds upon thousands of foreign television shows and movies out there that we have not watched. A very easy way to continue to familiarize yourself with the language you are studying at school is simply to watch a television show in the language that you’re learning. Even if you watch the show with English subtitles, the very act of listening to the language being spoken and comprehending what’s being said will help you better understand the language and learn to speak it yourself. I recently started watching the Spanish shows Elite and La Casa De Papel, and now they are two of my favorite television shows!