Back to School During COVID *Collab*

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This post is kind of a fun one that I needed to put some more work into {to find people, ways to communicate, etc.}. I asked 4 classmates of mine how they were dealing with the transition back to school. Three of them {as well as myself} did the Hybrid model, while one {he chose to go by 'Anonymous #2'} did the Remote*. This was how we all feel about how we're learning this year.

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Question 1: Are you doing Remote or Hybrid this year?

Joey: I am doing Hybrid.

Parker: I am doing the Hybrid learning system[.]

Anonymous: I am doing [H]ybrid.

Anonymous #2: I am doing [R]emote.

Wawa: I am also doing Hybrid.

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Question 2: What is the most difficult thing about going to school part time or staying at home?

Joey: The most difficult part of it is probably not being able to spend time in the halls chatting with friends, and also the masks.

Parker: [T]he most difficult part is to need to work on things that start in the middle of an in-school day, and then going and finishing it on an [asynchronous] day.

Anonymous: The most difficult thing about hybrid is probably having to wear the masks and staying away from friends.

Anonymous #2: I have no problems other than feeling useless while staying home all day.

Wawa: I think the most difficult part is how awkward the days are. My section of the school goes in person on Tuesdays and Fridays* so it's confusing sometimes waking up and being like 'Oh no, it's 9 am!' and then realizing it's an out of school day. Overall, it's nice having little breaks throughout the week, I suppose.

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Question 3: Is anything easier about going to school part time or staying at home instead of being at school full time?

Joey: The only easier thing about it is that I carry all my stuff in my backpack instead of a locker, but the backpack is really heavy.

Parker: [N]othing is easier at home than at school.

Anonymous: [An] easier thing about going to school part-time is that asynchronous [out of school] days seem rather easy, considering they're just a couple assignments.

Anonymous #2: I don't have to prepare in the morning when [I] have school and [I] can just start up my computer.

Wawa: I think, if anything, it's more difficult this way. Contradicting what Joey said, we have to drag all of our materials around from class to class. I seem to see this as bit more of a negative than he does. I've also noticed everyone's sleep schedules are pretty messed up at this point {being able to sleep in some days, but getting up at 6:00 am others}. It doesn't seem like there is much that's easier this year.

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Question 4: Do you think these changes will last the entire year? If not, what will change and when?

Joey: I don't think these changes will last the entire year[.]

Parker: [I] think this will last a long time, [I] don't know about how long, but I think it is safe to say we will be doing this all year.

Anonymous: I don't think these changes will last the entire school year, because I think that many cases will disappear, probably during spring, and the precautions won't be so serious then.

Anonymous #2: I think these changes will last the whole year so that we don't have to make everyone adjust and have no snow days.

Wawa: I don't think these changes will last all year. I think a vaccine will come out near the beginning of 2021 and all of these changes will slowly been taken away one by one. We'll be able to gather in bigger groups, start eating lunch together and eventually allowed to come without wearing masks.

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Question 5: Do you hope these changes will last the entire year? Why?

Joey: [I hope not], I really want to see my friends again in person.

Parker: I don't hope they continue, this program is hard and this way [I] will be performing poorly compared to going to school [full time], [it also] means things in the real world are still messed up and require this to continue.

Anonymous: I hope these changes don't last the whole year, because I want to see my friends and it['s] just a pain having to constantly be in a mask and away from others.

Anonymous #2: I hope these changes last the whole year, because there will be no snow days because hybrid kids could just do remote for that day. Also there's so much free time in remote so I don't want to go back to school, because who needs friends when you have video game[s].

Wawa: I definitely do not hope these changes last all year. I hate wearing masks and being unable to fully interact with people. It's depressing during lunch when we are all spaced out in individual desks where even if you sit in the closest desk to friends, you still have to yell just so they can hear you.

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Question 6: What do you think is the biggest change at school this year?

Joey: The biggest change is the schedule, they added a 6th day, [i]t is really hard to explain.* Everyone is required to wear masks while in person and sanitize in every room.

Parker: The biggest change is that half the time we can't breath[e] quite right, and the instant someone coughs or sneezes everyone runs away.

Anonymous: Probably all the new protocols such as staying away, 10-12 people per classroom, etc.

Anonymous #2: I think the biggest change is how much you can participate and how you interact because I just talk with my friends on [D]iscord...and you can't really participate in class.

Wawa: I think lunch is the biggest change. At the very least, it's the most impactful change because lunch is where we take breaks to refuel and socialize about non-school related matters. We get barely any interaction with classmates because you just can't hear each other and there's no real need to talk anywhere other than during lunch.

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Question 7: Do you think other students and teachers at our school are following the rules well {wearing their masks in person, making it to class on time from home, etc.}?

Joey: Everyone is required to wear masks while in person and sanitize in every room, and it is really working, but you do get kicked out of school if you refuse to follow the rules.

Parker: People seem to be doing well [with the rules] in school, they are either smart enough to wear [the mask], or selfish enough to want to keep themself safe.

Anonymous: I think everyone's following the rules pretty well.

Anonymous #2: I don't know about hybrid but in remote it's hard to not follow rules because the only rule is too join a zoom call[.]

Wawa: I do think people are doing fairly well following the rules. It's sad that now I've gotten used to seeing everyone around me wearing a mask. When I picture people in my mind, they always have masks, now. Thanks, COVID.

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Question 8: Do you think you're following the rules well?

Joey: I always try to be on time, and always wear my mask.

Parker: I am also following the rules.

Anonymous: I think I'm doing pretty well at following the rules too, but sometimes it's difficult to stay 6 feet away from friends.

Anonymous #2: No, I once slept through an alarm. I made up the work but I should just get a good sleep schedule and [I] procrastinate way too much.

Wawa: I'm doing my best. Apparently some people hang out with friends outside of school and clubs and just don't bother wearing masks. When I am with friends, we make sure to wear masks in closed places but in open places, we just distance when not wearing masks. I feel like I'm doing better than some, anyway.

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Question 9: Are there any other comments you would like to share?

Joey: I hope everyone is safe and healthy!

Parker: [No comment]

Anonymous: [No comment]

Anonymous #2: [No comment]

Wawa: Thanks so much for reading, let me know below if you liked this and want to see bigger collabs with some of my schoolmates!

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*I know it is kind of confusing, but this is my school's schedule:

'T's are basically just periods. For example, my T1 is English, so English is my first period on Tuesdays {'Day 2'}. I'm not going to lie, this looks super confusing and my school has made it a million times more difficult than it needs to be, but this is how my school year looks! Basically, we could choose to do either hybrid or remote this year and hybrid was split into two cohorts. The remote students have school in the same part of the week as the cohort I'm not in {on my asynchronous days}.