Pretty much any parent who’s been homeschooling their kids throughout lockdown will tell you the pandemic has been a struggle. The same rang true for many students. Lacking all that social interaction, the novelty of not being at school wore off pretty fast.

But isn’t the grass always greener? Now that school has become a reality again, how are parents and students REALLY feeling about going back to school?

To find out, we asked 6,383 of our bees - users - in over 50 countries globally. And it turns out, the mood is overwhelmingly positive! 20% said they felt just fine about returning to school, and 15% were happy or  great. Only 0.5% were stressed. 

But a picture tells a thousand words - and we think these snaps sent in from our bees all around the world sum up the global sentiment even better. 

Read this next: what’s the buzz about…the bees? (a quick summary of how we capture our data from our bees)

1. This Russian bee celebrates a sentimental moment with friends before going their separate ways for uni  

Russia, male (18) 

Context: “Soon my friends and I will disperse to schools, universities, and work. We captured the moment on the banks of the river”.

Mood: “Fine”.

1. Look good, feel good: this Brazilian bee is ready to get dressed up to return to postgraduate study

Brazil, female (55)

Context: “I’m vain, I really like to go out dressed up, because I can enjoy the moments  feeling beautiful, including doing my postgraduate studies”.

Mood: ‘I’m calm, here the weather is cold, I’m a little sleepy, because in the cold we get like that’.

1. This Turkish bee’s son used to avoid going to school- but now he can’t wait to be reunited with his friends

Male, Turkey (50)

Context: “My little boy is excitedly waiting for school to start. He used to do all kinds of tricks to avoid going to school, but he obviously missed his friends and teachers very much”.

Mood: “I’m fine thank you very much”.

4. This Indonesian bee is going back to school and following strict COVID measures

Male, 24, Indonesia

Context: “In this photo, we school students are queuing with strict COVID procedures”

Mood: “Just fine”

6) This snapshot from Colombia reminds us of the importance of physical play time

Female, Colombia (15)

Context: “We are very happy to go back to class because we can talk and play with our friends. In addition, it was necessary to see the companions and those who make us smile.”

Mood: “Feeling good”.

7) Some students, like those in Mexico, are still having to return to school remotely. But these kids are still smiling!

Mexico, Female (35)

Context: “My children will be attending kindergarten online because of the pandemic. But they are still happy and ready and are wearing white to honor the flag.”

Mood: “Happy and motivated.”

To learn more about how Streetbees help brands uncover growth opportunities by capturing data on global context and emotion at any given moment, give us a shout in the form below.