Students in virtual school last year have mixed feelings returning to the classroom

After spending the 2020-2021 year learning virtual, nearly 400 teenagers at AHS have returned to in-person learning for the 2021-2022 school year. Airport High School is officially back to face-to-face learning, without the option to do the virtual academy. Students’ feelings are mixed.

The breakout of the Coronavirus in 2020 changed the way of life for some time. Eventually schools started shutting down. Airport High School went into what was supposed to be a month-long quarantine to prevent spreading the virus; students ended up learning virtually for the remaining four months of the school year. The following school year students were given the choice to learn virtually or do hybrid. For the students who chose virtual learning this will be their first year back at school after about a year and a half stuck at home.

It's safe to say this sudden drastic change affected all the students, from learning at school to learning at home, endless homework all year. Attending class through what felt like just a big Facetime call but mandatory. Free to do the work at any time as long as it was turned in by the due date. Technology issues every now and then. Needless to say, doing school work became very different.

When asked how being in the virtual academy affected her learning Bianca G. answered, “At first it was hard getting my work done but as time went on I got used to it.” It was a rough adjustment at first but she chose to stay virtual because she said, “I had time to get my chores done and school work done at the same time.” And if the chance to learn at home was offered again this year she would do it, her reason being “because I like working at my own pace.” The biggest advantage to anyone who was in the virtual academy was doing the work at their own pace.

Another student, Naizja R., also did virtual learning for the 2020-2021 school year. She was asked if coming back face-to-face made doing school work harder or easier. She replied, “Definitely harder because you get used to doing something one way and it changes coming back to school.” This plays into doing the work at one's own pace. She expressed how she felt about coming back to school after about a year and a half of learning at home, saying, “It’s my last year so it feels pretty good to spend it at Airport and have that experience instead of at home.” Which went along with the question: would she have chosen to do virtual again if it was offered this year, her answer being simple “I would not.”

Getting a grip on how most virtual students felt about coming back wasn’t that hard to learn. The easiest and best way to get that information was through social media, a big thing nowadays. During Back to School Season, students were either posting about being excited for school or expressing how they didn’t want to go back, mainly using the hashtag #BackToSchool or #School. They mostly posted on Snapchat or TikTok, which gained quite the popularity during quarantine. To see how students were feeling while in virtual learning TikTok would’ve been the best place to look. Everyday it seemed like something shocking or exciting happened during a zoom call/google meet, with students pulling out their phones and recording it as well as their own reactions.

It is surprising how the year went by. The sophomores who went into quarantine along with the rest of the school who chose to do their junior year virtually are now back face-to-face as seniors. Time really has flown by, that’s something everyone can agree on.