It’s been six months since the coronavirus outbreak happened. We’ve been trying to cope with the virus for so long and now, it’s time to go back to school. Not just students, but the whole staff will need to adapt to the new “zoom format” for a while since we have no concrete responses on whether or not we’ll be able to reunite again. Now, students and teachers at SMHS are in week four of distance learning. How’s that been for them? What do teachers think of high school engagement learning? How freshmen, who are just entering high school, are going to lose their first experience on a high school campus? How have seniors, in their last year of high school, dealt with the feeling of maybe not coming back to high school as we know?
Firstly, I spoke to Nate Johnson, an English teacher at SMHS who teaches grades 10 and 11. “It’s making the best of a bad situation …educational learning is happening and it’s going better than I was expecting it would,” Mr. Johnson responded, optimistically.
“I don’t think we’re getting the same connections …it’s gonna take more time for teachers to get to know their students. We’re just a bunch of digital heads,” Mr. Johnson answered when asked how the relationship between students and teachers has changed during the distance learning period.
“I’m not super optimistic that we’re gonna be able to go back before there is some kind of vaccine and I don’t know if a hybrid model could work, that doesn’t seem like a real improvement over what we’re experiencing now. It needs to be an all or nothing,” Mr. Johnson said, concerned about our comeback. “Everybody should pause and recognize what a historical moment this is. It’s not a joyous moment but it is something that people will remember,” he added.
What do students at SMHS think of distance learning? Kaden Chiang, a freshman, expressed how he’s feeling with all these changes. “The classroom experience is 90 percent there, I think,” Kaden noted. “I was looking forward to this freshman year … It’s unfortunate.”
Kaden gave his opinion when asked if he thinks things will return to normal soon or not. “I think it won’t go back to normal in probably a few years, I think things will remain the same. I’m pretty sure it takes a few years to develop a vaccine,”
Now, what do seniors think of distance learning, given the fact that this year is their last one? “It’s not as bad as I thought it was gonna be …it’s actually pretty okay,” offered Sophie Rehder, senior at San Mateo High School.
“Teachers right now are making a big effort to make sure we’re all learning …I’d choose to see the positives of everything and I hope by the end of the year that’ll be fixed,” Sophie stated, positive. “Make sure to register to vote.” She concluded.
We can’t tell if schools and students are going to adopt this new learning format forever, or at least for a long period of time. Everyone has their own opinion. All we know is that teachers at SMHS are trying their best to make students feel comfortable in these strange times. Most importantly, it’s going better than we ever imagined it would be.