Sadly, Online School Isn’t as Fun as we Thought it Was Going to Be
A more in-depth look, from a DHS student’s perspective, at e-learning
While not being able to physically attend school, most if not every school district around the country has moved to some sort of remote online learning, where students are all able to connect with each other and their fellow classmates through platforms like Zoom or Google hangout. For students, these past weeks have consisted of reminiscing about “the good ole’ days” where they claim that they actually miss going to school, seeing their friends and teachers, playing sports and extracurricular activities, or even the crazy lunchroom.
Taking online courses is very similar to the rain, it kinda looks nice from the outside but once you actually go into it stinks. From the outside looking in, while we were still in school, everything seemed pretty cool. With only having a few hours of classes that could be attended while wearing PJs while also smelling like a gorilla gave students a much more flexible schedule and environment where they also learn a great amount of self-discipline, and responsibility.
Having the ability to go to class around your house, or even in bed if you are a daredevil, was mind-blowing. Taking an online course also means that you don’t have to commute to class, which means less time spent on the bus or driving through the heavy before-school traffic. Online learning forces students to have – or learn to have – a great amount of self-discipline, self-motivation, and organization/ time management skills.
Now that we are fully in the rain, we have experienced all of the stinky and amazing parts of online courses as well, and almost everybody has their own opinion on the matter.
When asking a group of senior’s what their opinions where on online school, I received responses ranging from absolutely hating it, to preferring it over real school. Senior Amanda Lovegrove noticed how “it’s very relaxed” although that can have both negative and positive outcomes. Lovegrove along with many others emphasized the importance of relaxation with only having 4 classes a day and by also having the ability to complete most work outside of class and at your own pace.
The appreciation for online courses aren’t solely amongst seniors, as Sophomore Alex Vogt commented on his experience with online school. “So far e-learning has been a nice change of pace from regular life at DHS, although it is not something I want to happen following this year”. Junior Riley Kunetz added, “I like online school because I like getting to sleep a little more and then wake up and walk two steps to my desk”.
I love the staff at DHS, I miss them dearly and to not see some of them really hurts my heart. Seeing them online doesn’t even come close to in-person interaction and shenanigans in the classroom. — Senior Tyler O'Brien
Ugh. Now that we’ve been in the rain for what has felt like an entire year, we’ve all been able to experience the real ugliness and grittiness that is an online school. While many students did share their likes about e-learning with me but they also shared their dis-likes. Several students complained about teachers being a little too hard with the amount of homework and classwork they are making students do. However, the majority of students described how their least favorite part of e-learning is when teachers keep their students for the whole hour on a lecture when time could be better-spent for students learning at their own pace and on our own time through material on power points and such. Senior Caroline Malloy added on to this by saying how she believes that teachers feel pressure to use the whole hour, whereas from her personal experience students learn better when on zoom for less time and given more time to complete exit slips and do the assignments at their own pace.
Now at the end of the day, it’s clear that no one likes this and everyone just wants to get back to school and get back into the rhythm of normal life. No matter how monotonous virtual DHS gets and how annoyed we are with e-learning, it’s important to remember that we are all going through his together.
Ryan is a senior at DHS and started writing for Neirad in the Fall of 2019. He enjoys writing about pop culture, current events, and sports. Outside...
