As the first half of the school year comes to an end, there has been a noticeable decrease in the amount of students showing up for in-person classes. In most of my classes the numbers have gone from around 10 to 12 students in each class at the beginning of the year, to no more than 7 showing up everyday. For some students going virtual was something they had to do to make sure they and their families felt safe, or they didn’t feel comfortable going into school and don’t want to be contact traced and have to spend 2 weeks quarenting. However there are some students who take the easy way out and go virtual because they don’t have to pay attention and can just roll out of bed and go straight into class. 

Back in September, the biggest problem for the school was figuring out how to bring students back in the building and keep them safe. Ultimately, the district was able to do that. The only way that it was going to work well was if everyone did what they were supposed to do. Now halfway through the year, many students have already given up. 

During the first quarter of the new school year, everyone was excited to be back in the room (physically) and classes were full. After a spring and summer spent quarenting and distancing, people were excited to see their classmates that they hadn’t seen in many months. But it seems like “senioritis” has kicked in starting in the second quarter. According to the Northwood Omniscient study 78% of seniors have senioritis. For the seniors that are suffering from senioritis, when life starts getting back to normal, the transition is gonna be  difficult for them. 

In person school offers many benefits that you don’t have by being virtual. First it is a lot easier to get distracted by things such as your phone while at home compared to in a classroom setting. Also if you don’t understand something or need help with work during class it is more convenient for the teacher to help a student in person rather than online. Furthermore I have noted that on certain occasions while working in class, it seems like the teacher is more focused on the students in person because they can walk around and ask if there are any questions that students may have personally. Some students are afraid to ask questions while online as the whole class can hear it. 

Senior Nick Caruso has found that being in person keeps him in check and helps him not get distracted as easily. He said “When you are in person it is very hard to be on your phone or be doing other work for another class. However when you are at home it is very challenging for a teacher to tell if you are paying attention. I certainly enjoy being hybrid because it keeps me motivated to do my work and to try the best I can.” 

Hopefully soon, there will not be virtual classes anymore as many are getting too acclimated to them. That can be used as motivation on days when you don’t want to go in physically. College is hard enough going into it without a good work ethic, when it comes to school work it is going to be extremely difficult.