AUGUST 2020, ISSUE 3
Student Section THE NEW NORMAL
What's Inside: "Learning from a Distance: What We're Getting Wrong, and Who's Being Left Behind" by Ashley Garcia Torres "Returning to School Online" by Meghan Barnes "Pandemic Pods: A Question of Privilege" by Whitney Toutenhoofd
STUDENT SECTION
AUGUST 2020, ISSUE 3
LEARNING FROM A DISTANCE: WHAT WE'RE GETTING WRONG, AND WHO'S BEING LEFT BEHIND BY ASHLEY GARCIA TORRES
As
the
weeks
the
In my belief, the reopening plans of my
deadline to school beginning has come
school and many schools in general, do
nearer,
question
not take into consideration the needs
lingering in everyone’s mind: how will
of those who cannot or do not ask for
school now function? It seems that many
help. I mean this in a myriad of ways.
schools
For some students, it’s difficult enough
there
have
have has
yet
passed
been
to
one
truly
and
figure
out
everything that is going to begin taking
to
ask
for
help
place in the upcoming weeks. Something
transitioning into online learning it
that students don't get asked enough is:
can be equally as difficult, if not more
what do you need to personally succeed?
so, to ask for help. Not only that, but
The reopening plans that have currently
some
been put into place only meet the needs
environment of a classroom to focus
of — or seem to support — the most
and feel driven.
students
privileged and fortunate students.
STUDENT SECTION
in
simply
class.
need
When
the
AUGUST 2020, ISSUE 3
LEARNING FROM A DISTANCE I am in full support of schools taking precautions
for
the
safety
of
the
students and staff, but coronavirus is not the only threat to safety. When speaking
about
the
safety
of
the
students, we must also consider those who live in abusive households. We must consider the students who need school as an escape, and even those who
just
use
the
school
as
a
distraction. For those students, the absence of school as a safe haven hinders their educations and their mental health — one of the biggest issues that has been showing up with the transition to online school is the lack of mental health resources. Of course, this is an issue that has been present in our school systems for much longer than coronavirus has been around, but with the lack of a social
environment,
students
need
mental health aid now more than ever.
There are a plethora of reasons as to why students might rely on mental health
resources.
If
students
have
access to this aid, it can lead to a new type of mental clarity. One of the biggest
things
that
is
negatively
affecting the education of my peers is lack of motivation, and while this is something
that
looks
everyone,
having
a
different
for
therapist
or
psychologist for students to speak to (if they wish) can provide this needed motivation.
STUDENT SECTION
AUGUST 2020, ISSUE 3
LEARNING FROM A DISTANCE In terms of the impact on education, it feels as if we students aren't being prepared for either the short or the long run. My school has decided to have 20-day sessions in which we learn two different subjects for three hours each. In effect, we will be learning an entire semester’s worth of material in the span of 20 days. There are many issues with this plan: we don't have the attention span for such
intense,
teachers
fast-paced
learning,
having
difficulty
are
planning their classes, and students will likely forget the majority of the material by the second semester. Not only will we not be able to retain this information
and
apply
it
to
our
future classes, but, just like plants, we students cannot truly thrive in environments that are not suitable for us. There are quite simply too many things not being accounted for during this time of uncertainty.
I go to an incredibly diverse school— one that is rich in culture and spirit. But my school also has an upsetting graduation rate, a high number of students failing their classes, and below average SAT scores. It's very easy
to
working
blame hard
students
enough
or
for
not
for
not
caring enough when looking at the stats alone, but this issue—like most— is far more complex. There are many more
inequities
problem
than
playing are
being
into
this
directly
addressed. I hope that teachers and those begin
in
positions
listening
to
of
power,
students
will and
implementing the changes we wish to see.
STUDENT SECTION
AUGUST 2020, ISSUE 3
RETURNING TO SCHOOL ONLINE BY MEGHAN BARNES
When my parents asked me if I was sure I wanted to go back to school in-person, I said, “Sure, but it
will
About
be a
cancelled week
anyway.”
later,
BVSD
announced the shift to Phase 1: Home Learning. I doubt we will go back at all this year, but the possibility of having even a little bit of a normal senior year keeps me hopeful. It’s all becoming more real as I receive Google Classroom invitations and see people posting about their online learning experiences. When we first transitioned to online in March, it was kind of chaotic as many teachers did not know how to use online resources or couldn’t adapt their class to an online format. I know many teachers have been working over the summer to be able to effectively teach online, so I’m hoping this year will be better. The plan is to have school from 8:30 to 1:20 each day, with 10 minute breaks in between the 90 minute classes. I don’t love the idea of sitting in front of a computer for that long each day, but I understand that administration believes this is the best plan. We also only have 3 or 4 classes each quarter, which will be an interesting shift in workload and time management.
STUDENT SECTION
AUGUST 2020, ISSUE 3
RETURNING TO SCHOOL ONLINE Since we really haven’t been given that much information, I still have a lot of questions about how everything will work, but I’m guessing most people feel the same, seeing as this is new for everyone. In the short term, I don’t think this will really affect our education. It might be annoying for the first couple weeks, but we’ll get used to it, like we got used to wearing masks and staying home. In the long term, if online continues, I would hope that better methods arise that don’t require sitting in front of a screen for most of the day. If in-person learning resumes, measures must be taken to ensure that teachers and students feel safe, most of which require funding. Educational equality is more important than ever to ensure that all students can get the most out of their learning experience even with all the changes being made.
STUDENT SECTION
AUGUST 2020, ISSUE 3
PANDEMIC PODS: A QUESTION OF PRIVILEGE BY WHITNEY TOUTENHOOFD
Despite hopeful early predictions, by now, the United States has proven its inability to “flatten the curve” of the COVID-19 pandemic in any meaningful, long-term way. The unfortunate truth has been unveiled: this deadly virus isn’t going anywhere — at least not until a vaccine becomes widely available. Prioritizing the health and safety of students and staff, many schools across Colorado have adopted a virtual learning plan for the foreseeable future. Yesterday was the first day of my senior year of high school. What should have been a day of joyous reunion and school spirit was reduced to five hours straight of zoom calls with long awkward pauses, nonstop technical difficulties, and spotty wifi connections. It was — in one word — tiresome. I’m seventeen, and if I don’t find online learning the least bit engaging, I can only imagine how ineffective virtual school is for elementary-age kids. Remote education may be the safest option for the community, but it certainly isn’t a sustainable model.
Parents of young children see the flaws with this system, and many have turned to a controversial solution: pandemic learning pods. Pods, small groups of students who meet up in-person to complete their school work, have been popping up everywhere. These groups are guided by a parent, a tutor, or in some cases, a qualified teacher. While it’s understandable that parents want to do what is best for their own children, many people worry that pandemic pods will ultimately widen the achievement gap between students from wealthy and poor families.
STUDENT SECTION
AUGUST 2020, ISSUE 3
PANDEMIC PODS: A QUESTION OF PRIVILEGE
Pandemic pods are obviously a new phenomenon, but they fit into a long history of “white flight”: in instances of hardship and inadequacy, rather than stay and fight to fix what is broken, wealthy white families often use their privilege to find loopholes and exit strategies. Maybe it’s unreasonable to expect parents to sacrifice what is best for their child for the sake of the greater good. After all, it’s human nature to put the needs of those we love first. However, regardless of whether pandemic pods are morally just, they will certainly breed irreversible inequities. For many children, pods are simply not an option, as their parents don’t have the time or money to devote to pod learning. Since a disproportionate number of these children are students of color, pods are ultimately just another appendage of systemic racism.
Coronavirus is exacerbating the worst problems we face as a society, and educational inequity is no exception. This is an emergency situation without a simple solution. It seems like the best thing we can do is wear masks, socially distance, and hope that our students
can
return
to
in-person
learning sooner rather than later. We will never be able to completely repair the damage done to these children’s educations, but if we want to gain back even some of that lost ground, we
must
funding
for
schools
are
dramatically
increase
education.
Colorado
already
massively
underfunded, and fixing the damages done
to
education
by
pandemic are not cheap.
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a
global