As another online year comes to an end I went on a quest to find out how people felt about distance learning. With so many different thoughts I figured it would be best to ask someone from the three main  categories of school: teachers, parents, and students  

The first person I discussed this with was Dr. Secker. Being a teacher I felt that he would be a great perspective to have on distance learning. My first question was how he felt distance learning had been over the past two years. He talked about how “far distance learning had come.” Dr. Secker also touched on the fact that resources like Google Classroom and Zoom made the process somewhat easier to reach students. After this I asked him what he would do to improve distance learning. One thing that did not surprise me was when he said that he noticed students in the building “completed work more often.”   Dr. Secker continued by saying that one way to improve distance learning was “to require all students to have their cameras on.” When asking about a positive in distance learning he said “going 1-1 with technology” was his biggest positive. A great point made by Dr. Secker was that distance learning could give multiple graduation paths and opportunities to take more classes. 

I also had the opportunity to speak with a parent about how they felt distance learning went. The parents’ child is currently in 3rd grade and her perspective on distance learning was interesting. Her response to my first question about how distance learning had been was “stressful.” She continued to say how dealing with work and a young student at home was a rough mix. Another thing that she said was “the county could have done more to help elementary school students with the adjustment.” When asking what she would do to improve she said she would “give students A and B day schedules to limit the amount of time kids were looking at the screen a day.” When it came to my last question she simply said the only positive thing that came out of this was “the enhancement of technology.” 

Lastly I talked to senior Kayla Moses to get a student’s view on everything. Her response was similar to Dr. Secker’s when it came to the first question. She said “distance learning was an adjustment but over the year the school did things to help the students.” The way she would improve distance learning was by teachers having mandatory participation grades twice a week to help people interact with the class. She said this would help “break the ice” when it came too people not talking. One thing that stuck out was her answer to the last question saying “ one positive of distance learning was being able to work at home and at my own pace.” I heard numerous students say this throughout the year. 

With so many different opinions it would be hard to ever know how everyone felt but the county did their best but hopefully in person class can be in full effect next year.