Student Impressions About Online School by Sarah Levine

Sparta Highschool Students Weigh In On Virtual School Discussions

     The recent global pandemic Covid-19 has changed the world drastically, mentally and physically people have suffered. Schools have been shut down, lives have been lost, the economy is in shambles, the nation is practically divided on every important issue, and the President has seemed to have given up. This year has taken a toll on everyone.  So, today I have interviewed some students at Sparta Highschool to discuss their online school experiences and any problems they have faced so far in light of the recent adjustments.

    First, is Kiera Murphy who is a sophomore at Sparta Highschool, she plays tennis every day after school, therefore, she has some set opinions about how she balances her school life and extracurriculars during this unpredictable time. In her exact words, she feels as though school is more structured compared to last year, there is much more work, and the google meets are also more organized this year. In addition, Kiera feels as though 65 minutes for one meeting is too long, this makes it harder for her to pay attention and this is causing her quality of education to lessen. The hardest overall aspect of online school in her opinion is seeing her friends. She thoroughly believes the social aspect of school is the most important as well as the best part of her day, but she's happy at least sports are continuing for the moment. 

    The next interviewee from today is Brooke Fastnacht who is also a sophomore at Sparta Highschool, after school, she plays soccer and has had a job at the Newton Pool since July that will be ending this week. Brooke's opinion is as stated: both virtual and in-person learning is very different. There are pros and cons to both, for example, she does not like how hard it is to connect to the teacher or ask them a question because you have to speak in front of the whole class, and to her, it's extremely awkward. Her stance is that if we were in school one on one would be easier. Yet, she does love how the school is structured with only 4 classes a day. In her experience, the work is not only easier, but there is less of it due to the structure of the classes. Brooke especially appreciates how considerate the teachers have been about the amount of work they've given because they understand what a toll sitting at a computer all day takes on young kids. To conclude, Brooke doesn't have a set stance on how she feels about school yet, but she doesn't have very many complaints.

    The final interview conducted today features Kaitlyn Knapp who also attends Sparta Highschool as a sophomore, at 16 she is a competitive dancer who dances a minimum of 5 hours during the school week, is working a job as a lifeguard, and babysits. Though clearly busy with her personal life, she is managing her online school the best she can. Her strong opinions are that this year is much more structured with certain times of meets every day, but she greatly misses socializing with her friends at school. Overall she feels as though online school is going pretty well, the biggest issues she has come across are being unmotivated to do work, sharing the space with the rest of her family, and major internet lag. On the other hand, her favorite aspects are the freedom/independence, having more free time, and more time to do assignments. To summarize, Kaitlyn doesn't mind online school despite the challenges it brings with it.

    The consensus for the past three weeks of school has brought forth multiple opinions. The most frequent of them all being that they struggle without human interaction and no one to one time with the teacher. Students are still barely clinging onto the hope of returning to school. Only the future can tell what complications or pleasant surprises will occur. Will we be back in school? Will the structure of school change? Will corona impact sports? That's a secret only time will tell.