by Sean McGarry
Through the course of the pandemic, many schools have gravitated towards different styles of learning. Although most are either hybrid or virtual, the way classes are taught vary from place to place. I thought it would be a great idea to ask my cousin Kelly, a senior in high school from Seattle, a few questions regarding her perspective on the current structure of school.
How long is your typical school day, and what classes are you taking?
“My typical school day is the usual 8 hours. I have two free periods and lunch/study hall between them, so I have a ton of free time between classes. The classes that I am currently taking are AP European History, AP English Literature, calculus, physics, “Justice for All” (a social studies elective), and journalism. Last semester I also took advanced filmmaking and production. This was really hard because we were still fully virtual and couldn’t use school filming supplies and computers to edit.”
Why did you choose hybrid learning over virtual?
“I chose hybrid because I felt like being in a classroom with an actual teacher would be more beneficial to my learning rather than just staring at my computer screen from my bedroom.”
Do you think that hybrid learning is more favorable?
“I think that this depends. When my school started going hybrid, only 25% of students were allowed to be in-person. Since class sizes are all fairly small, this meant that there was a high chance you’d be the only person in the classroom while everyone else was on Zoom. This made the teacher focus more on the students on the computer screen, which was slightly annoying. Now, 50% of students are in-person and I think that this has been very helpful. Of course there is an increased risk of transmission, but my school does a good job with sanitation/social distancing, so I am not too worried. It feels relieving to be back.”
What types of clubs are available at your school during the pandemic?
“There are a lot of clubs that are available. There’s the feminist interest group, black student union, Asian American association, Latino club, One Voice (LGBTQ+) club, mock trial, debate team, global justice coalition, etc. I think they recently added a new outdoors club. Outside of the outdoors club, all clubs have virtual meetings.”
How has the college application process been different from previous years?
“The college application process has been different in many ways. Most people here in Washington have not taken the SAT/ACT because they kept getting canceled. We also couldn’t visit schools, and that’s why a lot of students applied to a ton of universities. Personally, I participated in a lot of virtual information sessions, tours, and other virtual events offered by colleges in order to learn more about them.”
In what ways is your school conducting teaching/learning that might be different from that of other schools?
“I go to a private school, and I know that all schools in the Seattle Public School System remain fully virtual. Our governor, Jay Inslee, has actually just proposed plans on reopening schools sometime soon. On top of that, my school requires students to have their cameras on during class at all times. I know that this is not the case at public schools.”