A Unique Beginning

Photo+provided+by+Joseph+Vargas

Photo provided by Joseph Vargas

Joseph Vargas, Staff Writer

The 2020-2021 school year has had a unique beginning that many students are not used to. Students learn from the comfort of their home and use online platforms to get through their school work and lessons because of a virus that has spread from person to person, causing panic among millions of people worldwide (imagine explaining that to someone years ago; sounds crazy). All of the changes brought upon us during this pandemic have led to anxiety among students, especially when it comes to keeping up with their classwork and grades.

After a quarter of remote learning, the verdict is in, and the consensus is striking: Hardly anybody likes it. With students no longer in a classroom setting, there are mixed emotions about the current state of online school. Do they like it? Do they not like it? What can be done to help? These are major questions that must be asked to learn how students are dealing with this new form of learning.     

When it comes to interactions with people through a screen, there seems to be a major divide between students and their peers, as well as with their teachers. This divide blocks some students’ ability to connect with teachers and classmates in order to understand and organize their thoughts. Interaction plays a key role in a learning environment  and with remote learning, it takes a large toll on some students’ learning experience. 

“I really miss being in class, face to face, I think learning online makes it more challenging to get to know someone’s personality,” Junior Molly Hignite said. “I think all of our teachers have done a great job in this challenging situation though.”

The most common answer among students, when asked the question, “what do you miss?” was friends.  Not being able to see your friends is a difficult thing, especially during times like these, where you must be socially distant from one another at all times. Seeing friends can relieve this pressure, whether that be from an upcoming test, hours worth of homework every night, or just life. Large amounts of built-up anxiety are not good for a person’s mental health but having the ability to see your friends or that person who makes you happy, can really change how a person feels.

“Personally, I don’t like online,” junior Chase Kuhn said. “I miss being able to see my friends, and I benefit way more from learning in person, but I understand it’s for our safety, so I’m okay with it. I really miss the social interactions in-person classes made possible.”

This year 2020, has been one for the history books as there is so much information that we do not know yet, like when will we be going back to school? Or even if we will be going back at all this year. There have been many twists and turns, which have been difficult for some, as change takes time to get used to. However, change is not always a bad thing. Good things can come in disguise; maybe this pandemic was something that we needed, and maybe moving online will be the change that we all need. Although remote learning is hard at times, when we return to school, we will be more appreciative of what we have.