Learning from Home

By CAROLINE CASIERI 12/10/20

Photos by LUCAS VALENTINE

With cases rising in our community, the choice to participate in fully remote learning is becoming more popular among students. Schools across the country have made their own decisions on making an effort to have students in school, if not full then part time, or keeping them home until the virus poses a lesser threat to public health. While it may seem difficult to be online all the time, many fully virtual high school students feel that online learning is a positive experience.

There has been an emotional learning curve to fully remote school. A CHHS senior stated that compared to the beginning of remote learning in March up until now, they have learned how to better manage their emotional and mental health. Getting and staying in touch with other people is key to this: Several high school students have expressed that while they miss interacting with their friends in person, interacting through things like facetime and clubs has helped them.  Because of this, they don’t feel as isolated as before. 

While not seeing friends is a common complaint, for some the at home time is much appreciated. CHHS Junior Alex Cerreno  spoke about how he feels he has more freedom because all of his time is his own, and he can learn at a pace he’s comfortable with. Being fully virtual adds perks like being able to have a little more flexibility in your learning and the environment in which you learn in. 

When spending so much time learning from home, it is important to have a workspace available to partially separate school work from home life. Spending so much time in one place can be draining however. A Croton Senior revealed that sometimes sitting at their desk for so long can cause them to become stir crazy, but they don't have much of a choice as anywhere else in their house would be loud and distracting. Another student explained that their workspace is just the way they wanted it to be. The setup mimics the feeling of being in school but from the comfort of being home and their setup has helped them stay focused while in class. 

Separating school from home life is important when it comes to working from home. One student reported that he finds it difficult to focus and get work done after school hours because of the long segments of time spent in front of the computer on zoom classes. He had expected he would be able to finish his work early and have the rest of the day free, but has been finding himself working all day. He feels that he has lost that separation of school and personal life that used to be present before the coronavirus. 

In terms of keeping up with and staying on top of your school work, time management and organization have proven to be critical skills in the life of a fully remote student. Planners seem to be a very useful tool for some when it comes to staying organized and having good time management. One student said that they use the planner beyond just keeping track of homework by using it to set goals and write times to exercise. Students also expressed how having a large break in the middle of the day gives them more flexibility to personalize their schedules and when they want to do homework or certain activities. Without planning, it becomes easy to procrastinate and let the tasks fill whatever time you have.

School looks very different this year, and adapting to the new rules and restrictions has been a difficult task. From trying to find ways to separate school from your personal life, to learning ways to stay focused on your work, students this year have experienced many barriers. Although there have been many issues, just as many solutions have arisen and students are slowly adapting to what school may look like for some time.