With rising Covid-19 case numbers in Wichita, the Board of Education (BOE) voted to continue remote learning for middle and high school students for the second nine weeks.
A majority of students have gotten used to doing school from home. And even if they planned on going back to school before the Board's decision, students were ultimately okay with staying remote.
Marissa Rapp, jr., made the decision back when school first began that she would do the entire first semester online. Her fear of putting her family in danger was greater than going to school in person. She agrees with the Board’s decision especially with how much the numbers have risen.
“My thought process is, if we stay home for a month or so, practice social distancing and wear masks, then we might have a chance at going back in person next semester,” Rapp said.
And although school at home has been difficult and filled with adjustments, Rapp has been enjoying online school, especially doing school from the comfort of her bed. The downside is the feeling that school sometimes feels optional and procrastination is much easier and tempting when teachers aren’t there to hold students accountable.
Like everyone, Rapp misses the social interaction of school more than anything. While it is safer to continue to do school from home, she wishes that she could see her friends.
“Online school is necessary, as well as wearing masks and social distancing,” Rapp said. “We’re all bored and it sucks, but we should make the best of what we have and take the virus seriously if we ever want to return back to school.”
Topher Cundith, soph., agrees with Rapp in that it is best that we stay online. Cundith originally planned on returning for the second quarter at the beginning of the school year.
“When the district decided to transition to hybrid, I started to want to stay online,” Cundith said.
After going through an entire semester, online school has become more manageable.
“Besides the lack of social interaction, I’m not really struggling with online and I feel like there are some benefits to it,” Cundith said.
Hopefully the case numbers decrease in time for the second semester and the BOE can think about sending kids back to in person school. For now, remote learning will continue and students and teachers will continue to achieve and overcome.