The 2020-2021 school year has been a constant struggle for everyone. Douglas County School District made the decision to go back to full in-person school after spring break, which I have been waiting for, for far too long now. I believe we need to go back to full in-person school because it’s a lot harder for students to learn from home. Students have lost a lot of their social life, and it has been a lot harder for teachers to adjust to the new system as well.
When you’re in a classroom, there is a teacher monitoring you and the class to make sure that everyone is on task and understands what they are doing and everyone gets their work done. “I think online class has affected people’s grades because most people don’t want to ask questions when they are at home, and it is easier to get distracted when you are at your house,” said Aiden Krusoe, sophomore.
Asking a question at home when on a Zoom meet can be nerve-racking because you might be afraid it’s a dumb question or a question the teacher already answered, but you didn’t hear the answer because you were distracted at your house.
Another issue with this system is the fact that phones are so important and play a big part in everyone’s life, especially high schoolers. When you’re at home, there is no teacher to monitor you and keep you off your phone.
Not only are students having a hard time learning, they are also missing out on their social life. “It’s been a lot harder to make connections with friends. Although you can still see people’s faces on Google Meets, it’s not the same as being in person with them at school and interacting with them,” said Brady Shuford, sophomore.
Most people only focus and worry about their kids learning at school, but I feel that social skills are just as important for when they get to the real world and have to be good at talking and interacting with each other. You can’t get these from staring at a computer screen all day.
“With the online setting, it was sometimes hard to really build relationships with students and engage them with what’s going on. And then with the hybrid setting, there is just a lot to manage, staying on top of grading while still connecting with everyone is probably the hardest part”
Joseph Gleason, history teacher
While everyone feels sorry for the students that have to learn from home, it hasn’t been easy for teachers as well. “With the online setting, it was sometimes hard to really build relationships with students and engage them with what’s going on. And then with the hybrid setting, there is just a lot to manage, staying on top of grading while still connecting with everyone is probably the hardest part, ” said Joseph Gleason, history teacher.
Whether you like the idea of going back to full in-person or not, I think we can all agree that going back is probably for the better as it will make things a lot easier on students and teachers.
Jack Bakken, Staff Reporter
