Back to Normal!--or is it?

March 13, 2020. A date that would forever go down in history as one of the most unpredictable and unprecedented events to hit our school. It was on this unfortunate day that AHSD and the state decided to close the school due to the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic. Students were animated with faces of utter content and exuberant smiles, because who wouldn’t be happy with two weeks off from school?! But what seemed like “two weeks” turned out to be over two years of school unlike anything we had ever experienced and hope never to experience again. At first, it was a trial and error year for the last few months of 2020 virtual education. Students contemplating the most effective ways of attending class from home, wincing at echoes from microphone feedback, while thoughts of when school would finally be back to normal echoed in their minds. But the next year was little changed. Still, with hybrid, and sometimes completely virtual classes, learning was not easy.

So flash forward to now, 2022, the most normal school year we have had since 2019. But I was curious, how are the students feeling with this new shift? Is it really more of a “back to normal” or a new experience they have had to adapt to, creating overwhelming feelings, and perhaps, a new normal? A study by Brown University even showed that from an academic standpoint, students across the board are struggling immensely, specifically with assessment performance and such. Do our students also feel a sense of worry about academic performance falling due to a lack of education the way they were used to? To put these ideas and theories to the test, fellow Abington Heights high schoolers were asked these very questions, here are some of their responses.

Chloe Dong, a freshman, spoke about her feelings about the normality of the year and the mental difficulties it brought for many students stating, “I wouldn’t say it’s ‘back to normal’ because you have to live with the fact that there is still COVID because COVID is still around. I feel like it’s a bit overwhelming, too, because we have to do more work than the previous freshmen when they were virtual and it’s a drastic change 'cause the workload is far more this year.”

Chloe brings up an interesting idea about incoming freshmen who already have to adapt to a high school environment and now also have to readapt to a new normal. Another student added, “My performance has definitely gotten better at school even though my family and I have decided to still wear masks because my attention span is shortened online, and I feel better talking to my teachers and interacting with my peers in person.” This student highlighted the benefits of in-person education, prefacing the difficulties of virtual learning and how transitioning back was a great way to end that cycle.

In specific accordance with academic progress and performance, another student concluded, “This school year started out a little rough having to adjust to the fast pace. But after a few months, I got the hang of it and was able to move along with it. With that being said, this school year was nowhere near normal. As a freshman, we are stuck in an awkward year where teachers can’t slow anything down for us to adjust. Whereas, grades above us had those opportunities in some of their hardest years and they didn’t have to learn the layout of a new school and a new system. Due to this, I feel like I wasn’t able to perform to my full potential. Doing homework was no longer about learning and more about getting the assignment out of the way. I’m certain that most materials learned this year won’t last long term and will be gone by next year.” This student seems to agree that not only was learning during the pandemic difficult, but as we transition into this year, motivation tended to be lost in many cases— and with that performance may face deficits.

Unfortunately, through the interviews, we can see that several students do believe that their performance has suffered, which is completely understandable due to the incredibly abnormal circumstances. What matters now is how we will combat this to ensure every student feels confident in their abilities and feels as though they are improving at an appropriate level and frequency. The best thing to do now is to continue to get student opinions and to continue to adapt to what the teachers and students can agree is best to ensure success. This year was not easy, but I’m confident that using all of the knowledge and skills we have gained through these unlikely situations, we will be ready for the next challenges in high school and will continue to improve.