With the reinstitution of school, both online and in-person, students have gone about the recent change in many ways. From electronic difficulties to scheduling conflicts, coming back to school after six months had its ups and downs.
Going all the way back to mid-June, the return to school was a looming force over many students heads. However, the transition from no school to a classroom environment wasn’t as difficult when it came to adjustment as many felt it would be.
“It’s been an adjustment, but I don’t think that the time spent away from school has had a more significant impact on me than it has any other summer,” Elaine Meneses said. “I think it’s kind of normal to be in a bit of a brain fog when school starts. As every school year starts many students are just happy to be back. It’s definitely nice to have something help restructure my day-to-day schedule.”
There seemed to be a contrast between in-person students and online students. For in-person learners, it is a slightly different experience from a typical school year. The socially distanced cafeteria arrangement, the new release protocol for classes, and how classrooms are set up are all huge differences from last year. Meanwhile, students in online classes began to explore the complexities of Zoom, Google Classroom, and Canvas.
Online students also are faced with a huge amount of self-accountability.
“[Self-accountability] is really a kick in the face,” Meneses said. “When you’re used to being able to just walk up to a teacher to ask a question.”
When asked about anything that surprised them, many online students responded with the difficulties they had with technology.
“There’s been a lot of scheduling issues, and there’s been teachers that are still learning how to teach remote students,” junior Aiden Nguyen said. “It’s difficult to deal with the technology issues, but I’m not surprised by their presence.”
Not only did in-person and online students have their own troubles, so did hybrid students. Many CTE classes have had in-person lessons instead of online, which requires them to come to school. The hybrid students seem to have the same problems as the online students, with the brief instance of going in-person being a relief.
Many hybrid students have to get up earlier to go in person in the mornings, as well as balance the difficult task that is online school. “…Now I have to wake up at 6 everyday,” Meneses said.
Scheduling issues were a huge part of the return to school. Though it has been a bumpy ride, many students schedules have been fixed. As the school year progresses, the problems that came with the adjustments to school have already begun to resolve themselves.