The Year of Uncertainty By: Sofia Ilardi

 The Year of Uncertainty:

Virtual School 2020: 

2020 has definitely been a year of change that nobody could see coming. There have been many changes in not only America but all over the world. At first, it seemed like everything was at a standstill while all of America was in lockdown. There was no more school, indoor dining, no movie theaters, and no sports. As the past few months have gone by America has started opening up at different rates.

The Chaos of School:

While some states have gotten their schools back open, many others have not. In New Jersey, there really has been no consistent solution regarding in-person learning. Phil Murphy, the New Jersey Governor, has been hesitant to let schools go back in person. However, as of August, he left it to the individual school districts to decide if it will be safe enough to open for both the students and staff.

Sparta School District:

During the final week of August, it was announced that Sparta schools would be going all virtual until the end of October. Too many, this did not come as a shock based on the updates that were being given by both the township and Governor Murphy. It was during this time that the district released a new format of the schedule with each student only taking 4, 65-minute classes each day with an hour lunch break in the middle.

My Experience with Virtual Learning:

After over a week in virtual learning, I can confidently say that it is no match for in-person learning. For me, sitting at my computer for over 4 hours a day is very draining, and it really doesn’t keep me engaged as a student. Some of this has to do with virtual learning, but another huge factor is the extended class periods. Having to sit and watch the teacher for an hour is very boring to me, and so many other distractions are present in a home environment. There are also constant problems pertaining to the internet and can cause some really bad lags.

My actual learning during this online experience is also very different. With school being virtual, teachers are challenged to figure out a way to provide us with hands-on activities that would be possible in school. Usually, those are the kinds of assignments/projects that keep students involved. I feel that there are so many more possibilities in school that keep me interested and ultimately help me with my learning. 

While online learning hasn’t been ideal for me, there have been some positives that have come out of it. The biggest plus for me is that I get to be at home with my dogs, Meatball and Tbone. I always like playing with them in between my classes. Occasionally during my lunch break, I also get to play Xbox which is obviously something that just isn’t possible in school. Lastly, I also get to eat snacks whenever I want during online learning which I really enjoy. While I wasn’t pleased with staying at home, some good things have come out of it.

Final Thoughts:

This has definitely been a year full of changes, and there is still no end in sight for this virus. At times online learning has definitely been a challenge, but I’m learning to adjust to it. I definitely would rather be in school but there are also some nice perks that come from staying at home. It is unclear when we will end up going back to school in person, but now I'm going to adapt to this experience and continue to do my best.