At home learning isn’t easier
All school work is same
Photo by Caden Rainwater
Remote student Nazaret Vasquez listens to publications adviser Rebecca Potter while she addresses the newspaper and photography staff. Because communication is a vital component to the curriculum of publications students, they often join the in class discussion and planning via Google Meets.
November 12, 2020
The other day when I was at school, I was asked how I did on a math test. After studying for hours the night before, I was able to pull off a 100. This was not the case for some of the in-school students. They said things like “Oh, you used notes, right?” “How? (insert “genius” name here) only made a 50!” “That is so unfair. Y’all get more study time.”
Ugh. The amount of times I have heard these comments makes my ears bleed. While some dishonest at-home students may be cheating on their assignments, many are not.
On top of this, remote learners get just as much work as in-school people. The school is not generous enough to give kids free grades. After wallowing in self-pity and anger for being accused of cheating on my test and people not believing I was smart enough to make a 100, I decided to talk to some other remote learners about their experience at home.
“I didn’t really like at-home schooling,” sophomore Bella Fuqua said. “It was harder to stay on top of my work and learn a lot of things. I definitely feel like this year has been harder than years in the past. It really just depends on who you are as a person and as a learner if you like online or not. I did not, so I personally wouldn’t recommend [it]. However, a lot of my friends enjoy it a lot and enjoy the extra time they have in the day.”
Although every student is obviously different, most of the at home learners seem to enjoy regular, in-person learning instead. They miss the interaction with peers and feel that having to manage their time and work at home is very stressful. This makes remote learning not the ideal situation for them, and it makes school even harder than it was before the virus hit.
“The one day I spent at home was not fun at all,” sophomore Reese Langdon said. “The worst part was pre-cal online. I could barely see the screen, and Mrs. Johnson was cutting in and out. [However,] I feel like the curriculum this year is easier than last year. In a couple of my classes, we were able to use notes on quizzes because some students are online and might have out their notes without the teacher knowing. I wouldn’t recommend it. The stress about being on time to your Google Meets, making sure everything can be uploaded correctly and having to understand your teacher through a screen is not worth it.”
Doing online school adds a ton of stress, but it can also do the opposite. Many at-home students have trouble staying motivated. Feeling like you have all the time in the world can make kids unproductive. It is easy to get distracted and get behind in your work.
