When the pandemic hit everyone went full virtual. Everyone, including teachers, had to adapt to this new way of education. But about a month ago, students´ guardians got to decide whether or not their child was going to stay virtual or go back to school, introducing another new way of learning.  Lots of students  went back to the building eager to have something somewhat normal.  When students returned to the building, the learning experience also changed for those who stayed at home.  Some students felt their experience stayed the same and some students felt their experience had changed.  

Seventh grader, Phoebe Smith and sixth grader, Steven Meyer both think that their learning experience has not changed when students went back in person.  Phoebe states that she thinks that the learning experience for her, has for the most part, stayed the same.  While sixth grader, Julianne  Hein and eighth grader, Hope Daniel both think that it has changed in some ways.  ´´I think  it changed because now we don’t get called on as much.  It used to be where when you raised your hand you got called on quickly,  but now we don’t get called on as quickly,” Said Hein  

Personally, one of the things that changed for me since a return to in-person and virtual simultaneous learning is that when everyone was virtual I  always felt the teacher was looking at ME when she was talking but now I feel the teacher is talking to other people and I am just listening.  

There are most definitely pros and cons of being virtual.  Some pros include you are free to do whatever you want during rec time and lunch, you have a less chance of picking up any germs up from school, you don’t have to be socially distant, most people don’t have to wake up as early,  and most of all  not having to wear a mask all the time!   

Audrey Mooney, 6th grader states,¨  One of the pros is that we don’t have to use school bathrooms. “  For me one of the big pros is that you are not exposed to as many germs from students and teachers at school. 

There are also some cons though. Lots of students say that a big con is not being able to see or interact with your friends during the day.   Hunter Graham, fifth grade, says that it is harder for teachers to notice you when you are raising your hand or holding up an assignment. 

 Hope Daniel, an eighth grader says, “ Learning virtually definitely has some cons. One of the big issues is WIFI problems. A lot of kids in my class have missed at least half of class or all of it. Their WIFI seems to be going out a lot and then they miss a bunch of stuff that they may need to know.  Another big issue is, people show up for certain classes and then skip the other classes that they do not like. I have witnessed that a bunch of times. Lastly, another con is kids end up sleeping through classes, or they log on and do not ever answer questions, even if the teacher calls on them. To me, that is disrespect to the teachers, especially with how hard they are working and trying their best to help us through this pandemic. That’s just my opinion.”

Other cons are not being able to do most assignments on paper, you can’t  physically talk to people, if you do not have anyone else with you at home you can get bored, you get ignored sometimes, you can feel like you are not in the class, more like watching the class. 

Our learning experience is definitely a new experience for all students. 

Being back in school is most definitely different for everyone. After seven months of quarantine, most kids are probably excited to come back and see friends and not have to look at a computer screen to see their teachers. Here are some of the things that the students and teachers think about how the in-school experience is going so far:

“It’s great to see all the students in the building, I think the staff is excited, and the students are excited to see one another,” said Mr. Ryan Smith, middle school principal. 

Some students may have some catching up to do from online learning, but we have staff that is flexible and willing to support them through this transition.

Other differences are the lunches, now that everyone needs to be social distancing, the lunch schedules have changed quite a bit. There used to be two lunches for middle school during the day. One for fifth and sixth, and one for seventh and one-eighth graders. Now there are four, one for each grade, so that students are safe.

Another big difference from being online is that students get to see each other and interact with each other.

Some challenges that students have been faced with is wearing the mask. Many, if not all students do not like wearing masks for almost eight hours. Another thing that students have been faced with is social distancing. Most students do not like having to stand six feet away from their friends.

¨You get to interact with teachers and friends, and you get to wave to your old teachers¨, said Trinity Vojtko, a seventh-grader.

When you are online it’s weird to ask questions when you’re online. Since if you have a question about something you have to ask in front of the whole class, not just asking your teacher in-school one-on-one.  It is awkward just talking to a screen, when answering a question, or asking a question.

¨It’s also harder to hear your teachers and friends, through a mask. You kind of have to yell so they can hear you.¨, says Mackenzie Mohrbacher, seventh-grader.