COVID-19 has had a devastating impact on people since the moment it stepped into our lives. Since school started, people have been forced to either go into school every other day, or just stay home. Those who chose to go full remote are questioning whether or not they still want to do that, or they are fully confident in their decision. Some people at NPHS in the C group have decided to come back to the school and take part in the hybrid learning system, while others have not.

Obviously, students and parents had their reasons to be concerned in the beginning of the school year. They were worried about their health, and the safety of their loved ones.

Alex Munies, a high school sophomore, says, “I greatly benefitted from remote learning back in the spring. I found that I had loads of time to meet with teachers.” 

In addition, on the topic of learning just from home, she said, “I learn a million times better in the comfortable environment of my home. I am able to see my family more, and I am able to spread out my work materials as I would like.”

In fact, Munies said, “I have never given it a second thought of switching to the A/B group. I enjoy having remote learning everyday because I get to wake up a lot later than A/B students, I get to see my family all day long and in between classes, I don’t have to worry about getting sick, I don’t have to wear a mask during school…”

However, she does indeed think, “I strongly feel that remote learning is useful for trying to learn material. I find that I am still able to be an active participant and collaborate with my peers while being virtually present.”

So, we know why some people decided to stay home, but what about the other kids that decided to go to school? What made the majority of kids at NPHS decide to not learn fully remote this year?

Personally, I decided to learn in the A/B schedule because I thought I would be able to learn better if I were still going to school every other day. Getting distracted is generally a lot easier when you’re sitting in your own house.

Well, what about the administration? Do they think online learning is effective enough? Are they excited that everyone will get to participate in in-person learning?

Brian Henry, the principal of the NPHS has commented, “In-person learning is the preferred learning option to remote learning, however, we have always prioritized the health and safety of our students and staff as our number one guiding principle.”

However, the principal has also said, “The nice thing about remote learning is that it does offer equal accessibility to the learning and provides new ways for students and staff to connect like never before.“

On the topic of more students switching from the C to A/B groups, Mr. Henry has commented, “We are happy that we have been able to offer in-person instruction for two months now and would be thrilled if more students wanted to take part in the in-person instructional option headed into marking period two.”

There are many reasons why a student, or their family, would want to stay home. But, there are also plenty of reasons why the same people would want to come to school. Some might still decide to stay at home, and some might choose to start coming to school again, but the more people that get the opportunity to learn in school, the better.