Students Speak: The Effects of COVID-19 on Education
Photograph by Sarah Gerovac
The COVID-19 pandemic has changed everything -- including the way we learn. Seven Hamilton students offered up their perspectives of this school year. Let’s meet the students:
In-Person Students:
Nick Strauss: Class of ‘21, involved in HOSA, show choir, and football
Sam Henderson: Class of ‘21, involved in drama, A Novel Idea, and GSA (Gay-Straight Alliance)
Grace Stefaniak: Class of ‘22, involved in color guard
Virtual Students:
Maggie DeCleene: Class of ‘24, involved in tennis and DECA
Aniha Nagammanavar: Class of ‘22, involved in debate, student council, and forensics
Quarantined* Students:
Sydney Vande Hei: Class of ‘23, involved in Skills USA, A Novel Idea, softball
Claire Kaiser: Class of ‘21, involved in robotics, lacrosse, band, and rock climbing
*During the first week of October
These students were asked questions about their learning environment, expectations, and club activities. Follow along to find out what the students of Hamilton have to say about the 2020-2021 school year so far.
Why did you choose the learning option you did?
In-Person Students:
Strauss: I really thought that it would help to bring a decent sense of normalcy to an already chaotic year.
Stefaniak: I chose in person because at the end of last school year it was hard for me to communicate with my teachers. I felt safe enough going in person and I trust that if there’s a major problem, the district will handle it properly.
Virtual Students:
DeCleene: I didn’t want to wear a mask all day. Also, I didn’t want to get nervous about telling everyone after getting it or spreading it.
Nagammanavar: I was really afraid of the coronavirus and I didn’t want to take any major risks not knowing how it was going to play out. My dad was already going to work and I didn’t want to add anything to that.
Quarantined Students:
Vande Hei: I just wanted to go back to school to see my friends, and I think I learn better in school.
Kaiser: Since I got quarantined, I had to do modified labs and I could immediately feel the repercussions. The information did not stick as well as it could have.
List the most important differences, in your opinion, between last school year and this school year.
In-Person Students:
Henderson: There’s a lot more structure when it comes to seating. And that’s for everything. In all my classes we have assigned seats for the entire semester.
Stefaniak: [In] normal school, I wouldn’t have to do all the preparation. I always make sure I have hand sanitizer, a mask, and an extra mask. Now, I put my mask on even before I get out of the car. When I go into school, I try to stay away from people as much as possible, but it’s hard especially in the hallways. I try to sanitize before I eat which is something I didn’t even think about before the pandemic.
Virtual Students:
Nagammanavar: I think it’s definitely hectic and more than I was expecting when I first started. It’s definitely more than what we were doing in March.
Quarantined Students:
Kaiser: The one thing that’s nice about it is that I can make my own schedule. Certain classes film while the teacher is teaching. It was nice to crank out calc work and then be done for the rest of the day. On the other hand, you don’t get in-person interaction. My dog was snoring loudly, my mom was doing dishes, my dad was working from home, and I was trying hard to focus but it just wasn’t working.
How did you find out you were getting quarantined?
Quarantined Students:
Vande Hei: One of the office ladies came into my class and pulled me out to tell me that I came in close contact with someone with COVID-19. They just said to go get all my stuff and then they told me to wait in the office area. After they pull you out of class, they call your parents to pick you up.
Kaiser: I was in 4th block in the middle of Calc and they pulled me out of class. I walked out of the room and disappeared for two weeks. I got a packet of information that told me I was exposed and when I was supposed to come back. We weren’t given any information on how to do school. They didn’t tell us that we had to check in on Infinite Campus.
Is the option you chose different from what you thought it would be?
In-Person Students:
Strauss: I thought there would be more precautions. They’re still doing a good job, but I thought class sizes would be drastically different. I thought there would be controlled passing times too.
Henderson: I would say yes it’s different. There’s a different atmosphere, maybe because they’re cleaning the air or something else. There’s almost this weird tension. Everyone’s just here and then we leave. Things aren’t as alive as they used to be. We went from a color movie to a black and white movie. It’s just different.
Virtual Students:
Nagammanavar: Yes. It’s way different. I was expecting a schedule and calls at certain times, but I have two AP courses and they’re both through Apex, so we don’t have exact call times and the workload is way more. I expected 8 hours of work per day and now it’s like 15.
*Apex Learning Virtual School is the partner system that Hamilton is using. Virtual students have a blend of classes taught by Hamilton teachers and classes that are taught through Apex.
Quarantined Students:
Vande Hei: Not really, I just can’t go anywhere.
Kaiser: I didn’t really ever think about what it was going to be like. I never thought it would be me.
What do you like about your environment?
In-Person Students:
Stefaniak: I like that I get to see and talk to people. I like to be able to talk through learning face to face. It helps my social skills a lot better than Zoom or texting people about the content.
Virtual Students:
DeCleene: I like being able to do stuff at my time. I like not having to wake up at 6. It’s kind of nice being home and taking breaks and eating whatever I want whenever I want.
Quarantined Students:
Vande Hei: I think it’s more self-paced so you can choose when you want to do a certain class.
What do you dislike about your environment?
In-Person Students:
Strauss: I feel like we could be safer -- especially with social distancing, but a lot of times you can’t control that.
Henderson: Teachers don’t kick students out for not wearing masks.
Virtual Students:
Nagammanavar: The workload and how long it takes. It also takes me a long time to adjust to WIFI and the new technology.
Quarantined Students:
Kaiser: I really dislike not being able to see my friends. I’m just sitting at home trying to text people. My friends and teachers are all busy so if I’m stuck, I’m stuck.
If you could change one thing about your learning environment or your clubs (besides the pandemic happening), what would you change?
In-Person Students:
Strauss: I don’t think there’s anything that I would change. I appreciate the fact that the school board considered that we have a choice to make. All the staff is enforcing the right protocols and I think we’re doing the best we can.
Henderson: There’s a part of me that [thinks that] I wouldn’t change any of it. Because I have parents who are teachers, I’m always thinking about life being a learning lesson and I think this is going to be a very big one, especially for the graduating class. I don’t think I could, would, or want to change anything and I think that this is almost an experiment. How do we cope in a modern century with a modern pandemic?
Stefaniak: I would probably make school more of a hybrid learning situation. Right now, it’s 80-20 in-person and online. I would split up students to attend school on different days to make it so that we can stay further away from people and give the school more time to clean. I would have half the school go to Monday and Tuesday and the other half on Thursday and Friday and make Wednesday a cleaning day.
Virtual Students:
DeCleene: I wouldn’t want to do the Apex classes. I’d rather do all Zoom classes. The Zoom classes feel more like actual school.
Nagammanavar: I think one of the biggest things is in the beginning I really wish that we were told that the partner system was going to be Apex. It would have given me time to get adjusted and make my decision more informed. I thought I had all Hamilton teachers. I just wish I knew ahead of time.
Quarantined Students:
Vande Hei: I just think that if you tested negative you should be able to come back to school. Even if you test negative, you still have to quarantine if you came in close contact with someone.
Kaiser: The only thing that changed was the desks pushed apart and wearing masks. They could have done a split schedule or had teachers switched rooms so there would be 4 people per positive case instead of 16.
What are your clubs doing?
Strauss: For HOSA, they are mainly taking a virtual approach. Meetings are on zoom calls and the executive board and the advisors were in the same room wearing masks on the call. Instead of nine football games per year, we only have six games this season. The other difference is that they are reducing the size of the audience of each game. Each player/personnel has four tickets to distribute to anyone who wants to come and watch the game. There’s still a student section. Show choir season changed drastically. The 40 person team was divided into two and each group takes turns going in-person for rehearsal. We social distance and when we dance inside we wear masks. If someone isn’t able to attend the rehearsal in person, there is a zoom call for virtual students to join and practice.
Henderson: GSA is 100% online as far as I know. From what I understand, they are doing online meetings during advisement and after school through Google Meet and Zoom. A Novel Idea is also virtual. You can pick up the book. Drama is the confusing one. The rules are during rehearsals, auditions, etc. we keep our masks on the whole time. I don’t know what the rules are going to be for performances. We’re trying to social distance but with theater it’s very complicated. I don’t really know where it’s going to go, but that’s what’s happening right now. If we can go outside for rehearsals, we are.
Stefaniak: We [marching band and color guard] had a standstill marching band with two separate bands. The color guard performed with both bands. Sectionals were spaced out and we tried to utilize as much space as possible.
DeCleene: Tennis is outdoors. We just wear masks when we’re not playing. We social distance but it’s pretty much the same. For DECA, we have online meetings during advisement.
Nagammanavar: Forensics hasn’t started open meetings, so I’m just trying to keep in touch with the coaches. For debate, everything is virtual, and since we’re completely student-run, we’re still adjusting. For student council, they have a virtual student system and volunteering opportunities. They’re doing a good job keeping us informed.
Vande Hei: Skills USA is doing the same thing. We’re doing in-person meetings. Softball last season got cut short, and now we’re doing Fall Ball with social distancing and masks when you’re not playing. A Novel Idea is having virtual meetings during advisement. Most people are reading books online.
Kaiser: Robotics has been given the short end of the stick. But we get to start in-person meetings on October 6th. Everyone needs to be wearing masks and there’s a set traffic pattern and symptom checking. We’re doing smaller teams and each team gets their own room. Only designated people get to leave the room. Lacrosse is all outside and you still need to wear masks. For band, we split into two marching bands and we practice drill outside. We have slit masks, bell covers, and you have to wear your mask when you’re not playing. The slit mask thing is getting kind of annoying because of the giant hole. The mask does nothing with the hole in it.
Seven students. Seven different perspectives. While students from the same learning environment may agree on some things, there are always differences between each perspective. Perhaps this is because everyone learns differently, but regardless of the type of learner you are or which learning environment you chose, it’s clear that the 2020-2021 school year will be like no other.
