Students happy to be back in class after working remotely

Four students from two local schools told The Sentinel-Record they are happy to be back in class after months of working remotely.

Ella Pace, Hot Springs World Class High School senior, said it’s good to see the teachers in person again.

“I feel like when we were online, (we) missed out on some of the personal connections because all of the time that (we) have online, they try to use for instruction,” she said.

“So, being back in the classroom, it’s easier to joke around and we get a better mix of personalities then you can online,” Pace said.

Adjusting to the new requirements at the school has not been difficult, she said, although the screens on the desks were strange to her.

“It’s kind of back to business as usual; I think it’s a lot easier to get a quality education in person. I struggle with figuring out when I have to get on Zoom (and) trying to pay attention to Zoom when I have a million other things going on. Being back at school, it’s been nice, because it’s easier to focus on learning,” Pace said.

Gregory Hayes Whorton, a senior at Lakeside High School, said that he had to adjust to being back at school.

“I had to get back into the swing of being at school, having to get up early, schedule my day and having a solid school structure. … ,” he said.

“With COVID-19, (there are) more safety precautions to work around. With

social distancing, we have to work harder to stay away from other students, and that means that I have to get to school earlier so that I can try to avoid being around students,” Whorton said.

Ethan Stevens, a junior at Cutter Morning Star High School, said back in March, there was much miscommunication and they were unsure what they were supposed to be doing or when to do it.

“Now that we are back in the classroom, there is more of a guide than a layout for classwork,” he said.

Jaley Anderson, a sophomore at CMS, said she prefers faceto-face communication because instead of emailing back and forth, she can get an immediate reply.

“When I was at home, I felt a lot more sluggish, and I’d slack a bit. So, when I was in a workplace, it was way easier to focus, ” she said.

Whorton said that it is nice to have the structure of high school again.

“It’s nice that we have a school that’s fully functioning, even though students are online sometimes,” he said.

“I’m going to school two days a week and online for three. I think that it’s a better system because all the administration is there, and they’re working full time now,” Whorton said.

“Less disorder and less chaos. So, I think that we’re more productive than we were able to be last semester,” he said.

Whorton said that he chose blended learning because he was trying to figure out how to balance safety and efficiency.

He said that Mondays and Wednesdays are often instruction days and Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays are often discussion days, noting that students can do that online.

“By being at school on Mondays and Wednesdays, I’m able to get more out of what the teacher is teaching or saying. Being home three days a week, I feel like I’m minimizing my risk of catching COVID-19,” Whorton said.

Pace said she feels some teachers were a lot more prepared than others, noting some could not figure out how to get Zoom to work. The classes that had a lot of their work online were easier to follow, she said, noting her psychology teacher was well organized with Google Classroom and now Schoology.

“It was extremely easy to stay caught up and stay on track,” she said.

Pace said she is an International Baccalaureate student and has a class called Theory of Knowledge. She said she feels she got a horrible education in that class, but she does not blame the school or teacher.

“It was my own fault, but some of those (subjects) are a lot harder to learn when you only have Zoom meetings once a week and you’re trying to tackle complex subjects,” she said.

“I think our teachers are doing a good job, despite all the circumstances. I know it’s been a lot of adjusting for everyone, but I truly feel safe here. The staff and everyone, they are making sure to keep us in school,” Pace said.