Westlake Word

The quick switch from in person learning every day to virtual learning was a difficult transition for everyone, but it was for everyone’s safety. When September came, students were excited to hear that they would be returning to school on a hybrid model: two or three days in person a week, with alternating virtual days. Although this promised students and teachers alike the opportunity to have some normalcy in education, the question remains: is this model really sufficient? 

 

The answer is no for both students and teachers.

 

Although it is apparent that our current health crisis doesn’t allow for this, in person learning is necessary for every student, every day because while in school, students are able to focus much more, leading to higher grades. When students returned to school in September 2020, many students had fallen behind since they had trouble remaining focused at home. 

 

According to Erin Richards of USA Today, “Virtual learning might be keeping Ruby, 14, and her family safer during a public health crisis. But it has made it exponentially harder for her to stay motivated and learn. Her online classes are lecture-heavy, repetitive and devoid of student conversation. Her grades have dropped from A's and B's to D's and F's.”

 

Ruby is not the only student whose grades are dropping, which is going to negatively impact her overall GPA, which can affect her chances of getting into certain colleges. Learning from home is a completely different atmosphere than being at school, which is why they are unable to focus. Without the help from the school districts and government to allow everyone in school, students’ grades will continue to decline. 

 

Students are falling behind because of the lack of in person learning, including mathematics. 

 

For instance the Wall Street Journal states that “It would take students in grades five and six at least 12 weeks on average to catch up to where they were expected to be in the fall in math, compared with pre-pandemic skills, the report found. Children in grades two and three would need four to seven weeks to catch up in math, while those in grades four, seven and eight would need eight to 11 weeks”.

 

It’s a normal thing for students to forget certain skills over the summer by the time September comes, but with Covid-19 summer most students began in March. This means that students had to relearn or catch up on everything they had learned from March to June, which is going to take much longer than it usually takes to catch up students from the summer.

 

Without the face to face learning environment, students will continue to decline in their education leading to poor grades and the possibility of not graduating or getting into college. Schools can find a way to have all students back in school every day if they set their minds to it because they want the best for their students. Now students will just have to wait and see for what the future brings.

 

Works Cited

Brody, Leslie, and Yoree Koh. "Student Test Scores Drop in Math since Covid-19 Pandemic." Wall Street Journal Online, 21 Nov 2020. SIRS Issues Researcher, https://explore-proquest-swb.orc.scoolaid.net/sirsissuesresearcher/document/2463254339?accountid=34718.

Richards, Erin. "Students are falling behind in online school. Where's the COVID-19 'disaster plan' to catch them up?" USA Today, 17 Dec. 2020. USA Today, www.usatoday.com/in-depth/news/education/2020/12/13/covid-online-school-tutoring-plan/6334907002/. Accessed 3 Jan. 2021.