Pandemic changes face of education

Written by Peyton Taniser, Media Editor

March 8, 2021

Masked students navigate their way through the empty hallways of Catasauqua High School. This has become the new reality for them ever since COVID-19 has struck. COVID-19 has forced many teachers to change how they have been teaching, and students have had to adapt to the new styles they are being taught in. These recent changes have had an impact on the 2020-2021 school year.

This school year, teachers have been doing things a little differently in their classrooms. Many have had to tweak their curriculums to account for students being both in school and online. Factors such as not having the necessary supplies and cheating have been accentuated as they work their way through this new and challenging year.

Teacher Eric Murray has had to make many changes and “start from scratch” in many ways.

“I have refined my teaching style for the last 20 years,” said Murray. “Most of the class was interactive. Now half of my normal teaching procedures don't work because some of the students aren't in the room.”

Teacher Michaela LaBar had a similar reaction to Murray.

“COVID-19 definitely changed the way that I teach,” said LaBar. “It was really difficult to get used to teaching students online and in-person at the same time. I had to transfer all of my activities to Google Docs, and change a lot of my group activities to be virtual. Normally I do a lot of hands-on activities and group work, but this year hasn't allowed me to do much of that. Doing group work virtually just isn't the same.”

While the pandemic has hit schools hard, Catasauqua High School has been pushing through, and some students have made the decision to go back five days a week. In contrast, other students are fully virtual and have been spending their 2020-21 school year behind a screen. One thing that many students seem to agree on is getting out of school at 2:05 p.m. and having the option to be online, whether they are sick or because of a snow day. Overall, the majority of Catasauqua High School students rate this year a four out of five based on a survey in which 112 of the 496 students responded to.

In-school student Mitchel Lewis feels that school has definitely changed a lot for him this year.

“My learning has definitely changed compared to prior years,” said Lewis. “Socially, the halls and classes are empty, it’s kind of depressing. Academically, most teachers have changed their learning style which is different from pre-COVID years, It’s way more cleaned up, and the homework being loosened up helps a lot.”

Many of his issues deal with the possibility of online students cheating and having an easier time than in-school students. Lewis feels as though online students have the ability to cheat because they are not in school where the teachers can easily monitor them.

“As for tests, the pressure is even higher due to the online kids,” said Lewis. “Some online students found their favorite friend, Google, to help them with tests. Trying to compete with them and other well-performing kids is challenging to me.”

Online student Dijon Chambers believes that this school year has been beneficial to him in some ways.

“Learning at home taught me study skills that I did not have before. It allowed me to have the ability to zone out the distractions and focus on my work.”

Catasauqua High School has been one of the only schools in the Lehigh Valley to have their students return to the building five days a week. This is an accomplishment as many other schools have kept their students online or offered a hybrid option, where the students go in twice a week and are online for the rest of the days.

The question of what will happen next year for our school district is on the mind of students, staff and parents. CHS Principal Adam Schnug has a basic outline of what the 2021-2022 school year will look like.

“Students can expect to see the Rough Rider period return next year,” said Schnug. ”I do not believe the virtual option is going to go away. However, I do believe it will look different. We are going to do our best to put all of our virtual students in the same core classes. This means we're really going to have to limit flipping back and forth between virtual and online. Of course, students with COVID symptoms or exposure will still need to stay home and attend virtually. That will not be going anywhere.”