In 2019, a new virus was discovered. This new virus was the talk of the world. But little did we know that this would spike into a huge longlasting problem. Covid-19 is an infectious disease caused by the SAR- CoV-2 virus. When Covid first was exposed everyone just thought it was a small thing, but it later on moved into something much bigger. Many teachers, students, and adults were affected. Later on the same year schools had announced that they would have to shut down and people had to go into quarantine, creating a huge lack of communication.

No one knew what we were getting into after learning that we will be switching to virtual learning. How is online learning going to work? Am I going to see my friends? How long is this going to last? We all were wondering the same thing. I spoke to a few teachers and students to learn what their experience of online education was like. 

 What emotions did you feel when you first heard about online learning ?

 “When we first were told that we were going to switch to online learning I wasn’t quite sure what to expect,”Mrs. McDermott, a Special Education teacher, said. “This had never happened before. It was a confusing time for teachers. We had anticipated only doing online learning for two weeks but it ended up being much longer.”

Mrs. McDermott explained how she felt confused during that drastic change. 

Mr. DuRoss, a science teacher,  had similar input. 

“When I first heard that we needed to move to remote instruction I was anxious, because it was brand new and something that I had never done before,” Mr. DuRoss said.  “I was also upset because I enjoy teaching and especially the daily interactions with students.  Obviously, that would be much harder with remote instruction.” 

Both teachers felt some sort of anxiety and didn’t know if they were getting into something bad or good. This odd tension of not knowing how things will fall out creates harsh emotions. 

I also asked some students the same question.

Lucas Jacobs-Mijolovic, a junior, explained, “ I felt a sense of uncertainty because I wasn’t sure how long online school would last, or how it would affect our future of learning.” 

Samayah  Murithi described her reaction to quarantine as “depressing, because my education would be affected and my relationship with friends.” 

The students had the same thinking: both worried about losing contact with their friendships, and also having a lack in their education. All of these worries can create a decline in mental health. 

Did Online school benefit you in any way? Why or why not?

“Overall, I do not feel that online teaching benefited me or my students,” Mrs. McDermott stated.

“At the time, I was working with elementary students and it was very difficult to teach through a computer screen. Young children benefit from hands-on learning experiences and online teaching did not provide that. It was also very hard to keep the attention of young students.”

Even though Mrs. McDermott’s experience was mostly negative, she said, “one positive was that it gave me a chance to make daily connections with my students and check on them. It was such a unique time and kids did not know how to process what was happening. Online teaching provided many opportunities for great conversations about what was happening and how kids were feeling.” 

Mr. DuRoss described some positive aspects of teaching during Covid.

“I learned to use a lot of new technology tools to teach online.  It also made me more appreciative of the value of the classroom,” Mr. DuRoss said.

Students had mixed feelings about learning during Covid.

“The only benefit in online learning that I could say, is the ability to do classwork at my own pace, coupled with shorter days helped ease my mind in a time of tension in the world,” Lucas said. 

Nathan DeJesus, a junior, shared that there were some practical benefits.

“Yes[it benefitted me] because I didn’t have to wake up as early to walk to school and I could take more time in school because I  didn’t have to walk,” Nathan said.

Samayah liked that it was easier to work at her pace and look up information when needed.

After hearing all of the opinions about  online school, I discovered that people  learned new skills. But also people  slacked more and kids tended to just look up answers or not pay any attention. In my opinion, students or teachers had no lasting benefits at all from school. It created lots of unmotivated students and a decline in high grades. It also causes negative mental health. 

If we were to switch to online what would you do differently? 

“It is my hope that teachers never need to go back to online teaching. It is not beneficial for teachers or for students,” Mrs. McDermott said.

While Mrs. McDermott is firmly opposed to online learning, Lucas said he would approach online learning differently if he had to do it again.

“If we switched to online learning again, I would be sure to follow along in class more. I do not remember much of what I learned during the days of quarantine, so I would be sure to follow along,” Luca said.

Moving forward, if we were to switch back to online learning, I recommend  people should 100% do things differently and smarter. Also schools should ensure that students don’t cheat or misbehave and students should pay attention to the class. 

COVID-19 had its ups and downs. Everyone had a part of it and was affected by it negatively or not. No matter your opinion on online learning, the whole world will have a story to tell and will remember this time clearly.