DDB Pandemic High School Life
By: Remas Elradi, Fatuma Maki, Vanessa Wilson
School used to be so predictable; go to school, come home and do homework. It was such a simple routine. Suddenly a worldwide pandemic hit (Covid-19) and as students it really shook up our school schedule and overall life. At first it didn't seem real, like it was going to go away in a couple weeks. But then that clearly didn’t happen and next thing you know we are starting Grade 11 wearing face masks and staying six feet apart at all times.
We started spring break on March 14th. We were so excited for the break but we had no idea how long it would be. We were supposed to start back at school in the first week of April but that got extended. At the time that school was supposed to resume teachers started the online learning process. At first it seemed like every student’s dream! Staying home and completing work in the morning and sleeping for the remainder of the day was nice and relaxing at first, but as time passed, our attitudes towards remote learning changed. By May, we were very exhausted and felt as if our whole routines spiraled into nothing. We started to realize the impact of home schooling and how hard it is to learn through a screen. At times when completing work we truly felt lost and didn’t want to bother our teachers since they are at home with their families.
During this period, it finally hit us that we will be quarantining for a while. We forgot about school all together and just continued living school-free. At this point our “routines” were completely gone. We really had no sense of time either and were just truly living.
School finally started on September 10th! Before actually returning to the building there were multiple protocols sent out to parents. Vanessa remembers vividly watching one of the instructional videos with her mom and both of them were shocked at how school will be laid out this upcoming year. The next full day was weird. The school was in different sections with walking lanes and hand sanitizer stations on every corner plus all students didn’t have lockers anymore.
Now, instead of having four classes per day, we have two classes per day, and the year will be split into four quarters rather than two semesters. Our class sizes are the same, but some classes are offered remotely, while others are offered in person. At first I thought it would be easy to do school because it’s only two classes but when school started it was very different from what I thought. Firstly, the teachers give a lot of homework, and the pace that we move through material is hard to get used to. I wish the teachers knew that we're still trying to adjust to school because we have been out of school for 6 months. The only upside to the schedule is that we start school at 8:50 instead of 8:15 but we have class for two hour straight with no break which can be hard for students to concentrate especially in the morning. In my opinion, the expectations should be lower because we just came back from what feels like a 6 month summer, and a lot of difficult circumstances, and we need time to adjust to going back to school. Overall I feel like the expectations that the teachers hold us to are too high and should be lower during the beginning of the school year.
Going back to school was very confusing and class layouts took some time to get used to. Classes are now longer, and the number of people in classes has increased. These procedures don't feel safe for students as much as for staff. During class all students must sit beside one another in groups of 2 and maximum 3. Some teachers provide the option to wear a mask, but it’s not mandatory and not all students wear masks. In my opinion masks should be mandatory because students are not sitting 6ft apart. Students are given the option to do homeschooling or in person which is a great thing, but the process of doing the homeschooling is way more difficult and inflexible for the students, and afterwards, they may not be given the option to return to their former school. Overall, in person classes have been scary and the administration is not living up to the guidelines of the health and safety regulations of Covid-19.
While being in quarantine I developed a steady routine that I did during that period of time. I had more responsibilities at home, and I got used to being able to control my own time. Now that school is back to in-person, everything has now switched up; for example my eating habits, sleep schedule, work ethics and overall motivation. The transition has been hard. The change to my sleep schedule has been disorienting, and leaving the comfort of home is hard. Because the transition was a dramatic change it took a big toll on my social life. I personally feel that we should continue online schooling.
This has been a really hard time for everyone; administration, teachers, parents, and especially for students. We understand that the logistics of school are really difficult to manage, but the lack of information, disorganization, and confusing communication have made it really hard for us students. We wish that teachers would take into consideration what we have been through when they assign work, that all people in the school community would respect the public health guidelines, and that adults would treat us teens with the respect we deserve.