Going Back…Again

The pros and cons of online vs. in person school.

It’s weird being back. Actually having to get up and get dressed instead of logging on to first period from my bed in my pajamas. It’s weird seeing people again. Like being in a room with people during class instead of seeing their icons next to their name on a screen. 

There are three main differences whether we are in school or online. Dealing with the academic side of school has pros and cons. The social aspect between the two also varies. Finally the way we manage our time differs depending on if we are online or in person. 

Academics: 

While online school becomes easier and harder. It’s easier to do well on tests because our notes are right there. Most teachers have allowed the use of notes while online because, let’s face it, we’re going to use them whether we are allowed to or not.

But being back in person the way we are learning has changed. Online school is not really learning, it can be better described as working. Watch a brief lesson given by a teacher that you zone out through half of, and then be let go to do an assignment alone. Comprehending the lesson while online is difficult because of all the distractions. 

But now that we are back in a traditional classroom, even for just two days a week, learning is already so different. Since a teacher is there asking for help isn’t as scary, and face-to-face conversations are more accessible. 

This school year grades are not going to be consistent because our learning style is inconsistent. Students’ ability to adapt to change is being tested this year. We never really know if we are going to have to shut down again, so we have to be open to change and willing to try new things. 

Social Aspect: 

While we are online, we don’t get the opportunity to interact and socialize with our classmates. However, we have the social aspect in school, allowing us to socialize with people. At home, we can feel defeated if we don’t understand our work, but while we’re at school we feel as though we are not alone.

It can be difficult to switch between going to school and seeing your friends to being isolated at home behind a computer screen. Being at school is much more enjoyable than doing school from home because I look forward to seeing my friends during the day, but I feel bored and drained while I’m doing school from home. 

I have more motivation to learn while in person because my friends are there with me. I find it much harder to participate in class whenever we are at home. It’s more difficult to talk to the teacher about any questions that I might have, rather than in person. Seeing my friends and talking to my classmates during the day also allows me to get through the day quicker, and it makes the school day easier.

Time Management:

Now that we are physically in school we have less time to ourselves. Driving back and forth between school and home affects how we have to manage our time. Now, we have plenty of time while we are home to do work whenever we want. We can work on assignments from other classes during our downtime. 

Being at school gives us rarely any free time because we are at school the whole day, and we might have to attend activities after school, leaving us with limited time. The homework that is assigned each day can be too much to handle for some nights. I find that we are assigned more busy work this year, since we are also at home and it seems as though it’s an effective way to teach.

Some students are falling behind quickly due to the amount of work assigned with little explanation or the lack of paying attention in class. If we’re not paying attention in class all the time from home, we can get confused by the homework assigned. This can cause us to lose even more time to try and figure out concepts that were taught while we were not paying attention. 

Even though we are at home and technically have more time to complete an assignment that doesn’t make the work any easier. Zoning out during a lesson online is so much easier than zoning out at school.

This year is unlike any others and laying out a schedule for ourselves is so much different this year because we don’t know when we’ll shutdown again. We just have to hope whatever it is we’re doing is enough to get us through it.