Because of the chaos of COVID-19, some students have taken a more remote approach to the back to school season. These past few weeks have been challenging for everybody, especially with the schedule adjustments, course work changes and social interaction restrictions.
But what about those who are learning from home?
Online school is not as easy as one may think. It is much different from remote learning last spring. The typical online student has the same amount of work as a hybrid student, if not more, not including honors and AP classes.
“It has been great so far,” sophomore Jermya Robinson said. “But I miss interacting with my friends. But I also want to be safe and healthy.”
While some may enjoy the secluded environment that comes with online school, others do not. With eagle online, there is limited interaction between teachers and students. What could normally be solved in the raising of a hand can now take up to two days worth of emails to fix.
“Eagle online has been both great and dreadful for me,” sophomore L McArdle said. “I have to be on top of everything without much assistance, which has been a learning curve.”
McArdle is feeling the strain that independent learning offers, along with others. While distractions may seem like a thing of the past, they are back and more aggressive than ever. Distractions at home are just as serious as ones at school. Only this time, not everything can be fixed with a pair of headphones or a trip to the water fountain. Some of these distractions are natural, and can not be helped.
“I enjoy the flexibility that comes with doing my work online, but with that comes a lack of motivation.” McArdle said. “I don’t have to deal with a classroom of students that waste time, but I have to deal with constant distractions from being at home. I don’t have many restrictions, which is damaging to my focus.”
Adjusting to online school is no easy task. With classes spread out between four days and all deadlines falling on Friday at noon, it can be a stressful process trying to complete work on time.
“I am aware it’s not healthy, but for me school is no longer 7:20 a.m.-2:10 p.m.,” McArdle said. “It’s from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to sleep. So most of my day starts off with working to on average one a.m., once finished, I can go to sleep.”
If that is not stressful enough, take the restriction of certain extracurriculars for online students into account. Several courses, such as drama and sign language are unavailable to eagle online participants, along with a number of other classes. However, this does not apply to all extracurricular courses.
“I was able to do choir and gym,” Robinson said. “But it’s more going online and doing assignments than actual class.”
There are issues with online classes, but overall, many see it as the best option right now. Some would even recommend it to a friend.
“I would recommend online classes to anyone who can motivate themselves to do the work,” McArdle said. “It’s very difficult but worth it.”
Students have varying opinions of eagle online, but not all are bad. It really depends on a student’s motivation, work ethic and the type of learner they are.
