After a few weeks of school amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, Central is trying to figure out what is working and what isn’t. The most challenging aspect by far has been trying to teach both in-person and virtual students at the same time. Figuring out this process has been interesting with now almost half the school learning from Zoom. 

Given the option at the beginning of the year, students decided if they would stay at home to study or go back to the classroom. Students would take into account multiple factors including their health, families, new procedures and learning style. 

“I decided to go virtual because I didn’t feel safe going to school. The system set up is not very good since there is still a very high number of kids in school and crowded into a classroom. Also, my mom is high at risk, and I don’t want to bring it back to her,” said Junior Olivia Pituch. 

As for the classes, they seem to be going alright for the online learners. They haven’t had too much of a problem understanding teachers or getting the content they need. It seems as though they are getting lessons without the social interaction of a normal school setting.

“Virtual learning is okay. I get to sleep longer but, that’s really the only benefit of virtual learning for me anyway. I miss being social at school and interacting with people. I don’t mind doing the work virtually though,” said Senior Robert Jamison, “For me, I miss that intimate learning with the teachers because, during virtual learning, it’s hard to get fully engaged with what I’m learning and studying. It’s easier to ask questions in person rather than online.” 

The positive to Central’s situation is the live Zoom instruction. It allows for more of a student-teacher connection than just posting assignments on Schoology. 

11th grader, Edha Gupta said, “I like that it’s live instruction because I’m getting the same information that the in-school students are getting. It is also better than just learning off of random Schoology assignments.” 

The main benefit of online learning, besides being in the safety of your own home, is the immense amount of extra time and freedom. Once your classes are over students are free to do whatever they please. Homework is done earlier and stress is reduced

Pituch said, “The benefits are that I am very safe and I’ve been able to have a lot of independent work time. My setup is also amazing and has really been helping me mentally.” 

Central’s virtual program has its ups and downs but regardless of if you’re in-person or not, this school year will go down in history.