Remote students choose to stay home, not go to school
photo credit: Casi Thedford
Partnering virtually \\ With their lab partners tuning in remotely, seniors Tyler Allen and Nolan Lincoln collection trace evidence for Locard’s Lab to find the primary location of the victim’s homicide in their forensics class Sept. 28. Remote learners paired up with on-campus learners via a Google Meet or FaceTime to participate in labs.
September 29, 2020
Students pack their bags and hastily get ready for school, rushing out the doors to catch the bus. Meanwhile, their classmates are still lying in bed, relaxing and getting ready for school just five minutes before class starts.
Due to the COVID-19 coronavirus, classes are made up of remote learners, students who chose to do school from home, and on-campus learners, students who report to classes as usual.
Freshman Marcelo Villegas is experiencing what it’s like to be online for his first year of high school.
“It’s really easy to get distracted,” Villegas said, “because my parents bring in food or my dog will come in.”
Fellow classmate, freshman Tonie Washington, said that she also has a difficult time trying to focus at home.
“There’s nobody here to make sure I stay on task,” Washington said.
It’s really easy to get distracted,” Villegas said, “because my parents bring in food or my dog will come in.
— Marcelo Villegas, freshman
Since remote students aren’t in classroom environments, the feeling of isolation has come to many. They don’t have their classmates and friends to be around to talk to during the day. Some students have found ways to still talk to their friends virtually.
“[My friend] Axel texts me during Spanish,” Villegas said. “I also get to FaceTime Axel; he’s pretty funny.”
While students keep in touch with their friends, others only have the option to keep in touch with people they’re very familiar with–their family.
“Both of my parents work from home,” Washington said, “and my other siblings are doing school from home as well.”
Some families made the decision for their children regarding if they would do remote learning or on-campus learning.
“Honestly, I’d rather go to school,” Washington said, “but my parents decided I should stay home.”
Some parents allowed their children to choose whether they went t school or stayed home.
“I don’t want to get my family sick,” Villegas said, “because I feel like my parents would die if they got [the] coronavirus.”
Despite having to be virtual for school, Washington has chosen to come to school to participate in school sports.
Sports and fine arts have given remote students the option to be in-person for their activities. If remote learners do choose to participate in person, then they are required to show up everyday to practice just like on-campus learners do.
“I’ve been playing volleyball for so long,” Washington said. “If I missed a season, I wouldn’t be able to catch up with everybody, or I wouldn’t even make the team next year.”
