Classroom full of students VS a sad lonely one.
Go Virtual? or Go Quarantine?
January 26, 2022
Covid cases are surging around the world, and that includes Woodford County. Our Covid cases are flying through the roof and there are many students and staff members out sick with this horribly aggressive virus. In my opinion, I believe that Woodford County Schools should be virtual for a minimum of two weeks so that our Covid cases will hopefully go down and sick students and teachers can have time to rest and recuperate. I wanted to get a look at what the WCHS student body thought about the pros and cons of going virtual so, I created a Google Form which has been sent out and there were over 100+ responses! What you will read below are summaries of these responses.
Student Pros
FIVE Consistent Student Comments on the Pros of Virtual School:
- Less spread of Covid-19; so it’s safer for you and everyone around you
- You can have your own schedule that works best for you
- There’s a lot of free time for people to catch up on other daily things that they may do in life
- Being in the comfort of your own home. This is tough for a lot of people because they show up to school uncomfortable because they’re thinking of what others think of them
- Less social anxiety
- BONUS: Getting to stay in your comfy PJs!
Here are three random student opinions from the survey, which are all anonymous.
“No risk of being exposed to Covid, I can work at my own pace, don’t have to deal with overwhelming nastiness and loudness of other teenagers.”
“Can technically get the work done at your own pace, you don’t have to work in a stressful environment, and you can be comfortable while you do your work.”
“I feel safer, more focused, and I’m able to have my own schedule without the stress.”
My Personal Opinion: I strongly believe that we should be virtual because there’s less spread of Covid, teachers and students can have time to get well from being sick with Covid, and I have free time to do the things I need to do.
Student Cons
FIVE Consistent Student Comments on the Cons of Virtual School:
- More of a chance to procrastinate
- Isolation can get lonely and depressing
- Wi-Fi issues/not being able to connect to the internet
- Not being able to hang out with friends
- Being stressed out from the work overload
- BONUS: Not having face to face learning
Here are three random student opinions from the survey, which are all anonymous:
“Absolutely terrible, we are given nothing but busy work, pointless google meets, bad internet connections, I don’t get to see my friends, it feels like we are getting our senior year taken from us just like our sophomore and junior year, one of my nursing classes has to be completed in person, so we are getting really behind in it.”
“It’s hard to focus/learn, hard to get the motivation to do the work, and I’m stuck in my room alone with none of my friends.”
“Kinda boring, sometimes confusing, and can be kinda depressing.”
My Personal Opinion: The downfall of being virtual is students’ mental health crashes, kids are less motivated, and engage in major procrastination.