Online School: Likes and Dislikes

Since the shutdown of schools in March of 2020, students have been struggling to get used to a new way of learning. Let’s be honest, high school students are getting robbed of really important moments in their lives, and we’ve all just have had to accept whatever we are given. For the class of 2021, there was no junior prom, no Thanksgiving pep-rally, no senior cafe, no hightops, and by the looks of it, we’re going to be missing out on a lot of senior activities in the future. 

Online school has been tough on everyone. It’s really hard knowing that the last year with the people you grew up with will be spent half the time on a screen, and the other half six feet apart. Scituate High School is following the hybrid model, which allows students to attend school in-person for two days of the week. 

“I like in-person school a lot,” says Scituate High School senior Ellie Tobin, “If I was fully remote, I would get tired and bored so easily. I like to go to school and actually see people.” The hybrid model is what many schools across the country are following due to concerns over having everyone in the building at once. 

“I like the hybrid better, but fully remote would be the safest option,” says another Scituate senior, Chris Ray. “The extra help days are pretty useful if you need it,” he says, noting them as a “pro” to the hybrid model. Obviously, having kids in school full time would be the best option, but with the circumstances in the state of Massachusetts, that would not be possible. 

“Quite honestly, the hybrid model is fueling my senioritis by only allowing me to be in school two days a week, which is both good and bad in itself,” says Teagan Dooley, another Scituate senior. 

There are many pros and cons to the hybrid model, and each student will handle it differently. We all know how damaging staring at a computer screen for hours at a time is for our physical and mental health. “Personally, the hybrid model has helped my mental health a lot more because I’ve been getting a lot more sleep and eating more,” says Dooley. This is definitely a pro to hybrid learning, as we certainly have more independent time and can choose how we want to spend it. 

“One thing teachers do that I like is instead of saving the tests for when we’re in-person only, they open it in an online platform and give us around a week to do it,” says Tobin, “this also helps prepare us for college because that’s what a lot of courses are like.” 

While there are a lot of positives to this model, there are also negatives: “There’s a lot of busywork. Every one of my teachers does it, and it gets very unorganized,” says Ray. With all the work being virtual now, assignments can get mixed up on Google Classroom easily. 

“I find it much harder to keep track of homework because many teachers use the classwork section of Google Classroom to post assignments, and things posted there do not send any notifications,” says Dooley, “I’m constantly missing homework assignments that I didn’t know existed.” It’s no doubt that online learning can be both distracting and difficult to get used to, especially for teachers with all the changes they’ve had to make with their classroom. 

SHS math teacher Phillip Blake explained some of the challenges he’s encountered this year: “I can’t use my whiteboard anymore, and the way you direct your speaking, either toward the microphone or the room, is all different.” Highlighting some of the difficulties with online teaching, he added, “You also have to pause a lot more to see if anyone has questions at home as well as in person. The connection is also a struggle of online learning because say I lose the Zoom, do I keep teaching? What do you do in that situation?” 

The hybrid model, of course, is in place to keep the students and staff safe. Unlike students, however, teachers are in the building four or five days a week. Some are more comfortable than others. SHS math teacher Jonathan Schindler commented, “I feel comfortable being in the building four times a week, but that being said, I don’t have any kids, I don’t live with anyone elderly, so I don’t have to be as worried as others might be about it.” 

It’s important to keep in mind that everyone learns differently, and students are all trying their best to keep up with this new way of learning. It’s also important to remember this isn’t easy for teachers, and they are doing their best to keep us learning.