Students this year face many challenges with their learning that they have never had to deal with in the past. Due to COVID-19 families have had to make the tough decision of whether or not they will send their students back to school. For some parents and students, it was a no brainer to go back to school after months of quarantine. But for some families, it was a difficult decision to make. Going back to school is a big health risk because social distancing is difficult due to overcrowding in small classrooms. Students are required to wear masks, stay six feet apart when possible, and wipe down desks after each class. But there are a lot of germs in the crowded hallways and stairwells.

Only about 12 percent of EGR students chose to do online school this year for their health and the health of those surrounding them. “Since I am able to do fully online my parents thought it would be a good idea to not go into school just to not have any unnecessary risk of getting COVID-19 during a pandemic,” Anabel Bee’21 said. “Sort of like, why risk getting this disease if I don’t have to?” 

Every day teachers come to school and come in contact with hundreds of students which is a big risk of getting COVID-19. So it was a concern for some students to keep the teachers safe. “It’s important to not only keep ourselves safe but also keep our teachers and friends safe. They have families of their own, and it would be a shame to get them sick,” Evie Vander Ark’23 said. 

While staying safe and healthy is very important, online school is very difficult. Teachers right now are trying their best with adapting to new teaching but there are still unsolved problems that students are facing. “When teachers plan activities for students to do whenever they are in person, it is super difficult to find a way for me to do it as well,” Zoe-Kate Huey’ 21 said. Along with the difficulties of staying focused, there is a lack of connection between the teacher and class. “Virtual learning also lacks a connection between students and teachers. I am either always sending emails, or messaging through Canvas (which I still don’t really know how to do) and it gets annoying, because all I want to do is clear it up in person, and on the spot,” Vander Ark said.

On Oct. 12 students were given the choice to go back to full in-person school or to do all online. Many of the online students chose to stay online but some of them switched to all in person.“I actually liked online, it made me feel a little more comfortable and have less anxiety, but I thought that not hearing certain parts of lessons wasn’t worth it,” Taija Alverio’ 21 said.

Staying home all day makes it difficult to stay in touch with fellow classmates and friends. The only time you get to talk to your classmates is during breakout rooms on Zoom. But even with that, you don’t get to catch up with people because you are focused on schoolwork. “I’m on the crew team. After virtual learning, I get to bike down to the lake where I get to hang out with some cool people and row out on the water (we do this safely),” Vander Ark said. Being on a sports team or in a club is a great way to stay in contact with peers because you get to talk and hang out with people in a safe manner.