Embedded Files
by Ethan Dubinsky
As many students can now consider it an entire year since they last sat in a traditional classroom setting to learn, it is an adequate time as ever to reflect on a tumultuous year of academia. Not a single student at Hackettstown High School has been able to avoid learning through a screen, regardless of cohort choice. Although students who attend school on a hybrid basis are receiving in-person instruction, many may receive it as little as two times during a given week. Even then, those in-person days are only a half-day of face-to-face instruction: the latter part of the school day is spent learning from home. This raises the question: has an entire generation been set back a year, or more? Is virtual learning feasible at all?
The reality is that no, virtual learning will never be as practical and as fair as in-person instruction. Between the various distractors and variables that learning from home provides—such as your parents being on a Zoom call in a room across the hall, or your internet randomly deciding to cut out—technology has yet to be able to create an immersive enough learning experience that can mimic an in-person learning experience.
That is not to say that teachers and administrators at Hackettstown are not trying their best. Hackettstown has moved to a 1:1 Chromebook ratio, meaning that every student will be able to receive a school-issued laptop for learning. However, even before reaching the ability to have a 1:1 ratio, administration worked tirelessly to provide in-home Wi-Fi and Chromebooks to those who needed it. Teachers also got innovative with Google software, transforming old worksheets into new Google Docs, creating exams on Google Forms, and even learning how to use breakout rooms to create more student interaction.
Despite these efforts, however, the reality still stands: the hurdles that make virtual learning completely infeasible are insurmountable, even by the most dedicated faculty and staff. A loving and caring teacher cannot ensure Wi-Fi’s stability throughout a school day, and even the most dedicated principal cannot guarantee a quiet learning environment for a student. Just recently, on Friday, March 19, 2021, an internet failure at the school resulted in virtual students being unable to attend Google Meets for their classes. Students who were in-person, however, were still able to learn and be a part of classes for that day. Technology which is completely out of anyone’s control, is an unpredictable part of virtual learning. It is unfair that students must choose between their fear of contracting COVID-19 and receiving an equitable education.
So, what is the solution? In short, vaccinations. Though with the slow rollout, it is unlikely that a full return to school will be possible within the 2020-2021 school year, most states are opening up vaccines to the general public at the beginning of May. This does not mean the United States is in the clear come May; however, shortages mean many cannot get vaccinated until summer or later. Despite this, it is imperative that students receive the vaccine before returning to school in the fall of 2021. Though a final decision has not been made yet regarding mandating the vaccine, for many, it is the key to a return to normalcy.
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