This year, unfortunately, not all students are in the building for school. Some students have decided to stay home and do classwork online for the year and some have decided to come to school to do their work for the year.

Senior Niya Emmons chose to take virtual classes and noted there are pros and cons of virtual school. She said, “Some cons are not physically being in class, which makes it a little more difficult to learn and the fact that I can’t see my friends and teachers in person.”

She continued, “Some pros are I can stay at home and learn, which is nice, and doing things online makes it easier for me to talk out loud during class to get into discussions."

Senior Madeline Brown chose to go to school. She said, “Some pros are I see friends, get in-person help, like be there with the teacher, not over a screen, and some cons are higher risk of getting the virus, wearing masks, and not being able to see our friends up close or teachers.”

Most teachers have some classes in school and some online, so every bell for them in school is different. They are traveling from room to room for each of six bells every day and their Tuesday/Wednesday schedule is completely different from their Thursday/Friday schedule.

Art teacher Mrs. Williams is one of the teachers who has to teach both online and in-school classes.

She said, “A pro to teaching online is I get to maintain contact with my students and share my content with them. I am able to share, virtually, my passion and stay connected with my students during a time when we are all isolated and need a venue to express ourselves in a constructive manner. I feel that my content allows for that opportunity."

Not all of it is good, however. She noted, "A con to virtual learning is that very few students are doing the work constantly. The amount of time to write a whole new curriculum is extensive and it is frustrating when students don't pull their weight. There isn't a Ceramics online course in existence and I spent countless hours at the computer and the number of students that actually did the work is sad. I was able to pull material from the internet for my other courses because 2D courses have been offered traditionally virtually but 3D hands on courses are not meant to be virtual.”

In-person classes have positive and negative elements for teachers, as well. Mrs. Williams said, “A pro to teaching my students is the face to face contact with my students. I can ensure they get the content and support they need. There is a big disconnect with the relation of information and connecting with your kids. It's not impossible, we did it, but it is not the same. Seeing my students everyday is invigorating. It breathes a sense of life into my day that looking at a computer screen doesn't. The only con is the potential for one of my students, colleagues, and/or myself to get sick."

Both virtual learning and in-person learning have pros and cons and there was not a perfect or correct choice to make for anyone, but either way you should do your work, get good grades, and follow the school's expectations of you, even if you are home.