2020 has been a year of tough decisions for school districts around the country. Since mid-March, the Parkway School District has not let students in buildings for academics. But recently Parkway made the decision to allow all students, including high school students to have the option to return to in person learning. 

“People who struggle with online learning or who are struggling being at home or in quarantine now have the chance to get a better in person education,” said junior Molly Reeves.

Initially, Parkway made the announcement that only students K-8 would be allowed to go back in person. A week later though, the district board decided to allow high school students to have the opportunity to go back to school in person. 

Parkway families were given the choice to have students attend a virtual school for the remainder of the school year or go back in-person. Many high school students welcome this decision and have chosen to go to school in-person.

“I think giving the students the chance to go back is a good thing. I, like many other students, am struggling with online school and would benefit by going back,” said junior Mikenna Ham.

Until virtual learning, students who are in-person will be able to focus more on being in an academic setting and won’t have the distractions of home. The teacher will also be able to read non-verbal clues easier to see if a student is paying attention and understanding the material. This will increase some student’s chances of passing and graduating on time since it increases student learning and success.

Mental health has been one of Parkway’s major focuses, acknowledging that this semester has been very difficult mentally for both students and teachers. Improving a student’s mental health is another pro for in-person classes. Even though returning to school in-person will not be the same as it was before last March, students will not be as isolated and have more personal contact with people (at a distance) which can benefit mental health. The connection between student and teacher and students and their peers will be much greater.

 “My mental health has been negatively affected by quarantine like a lot of other students, and I know that in person will be extremely beneficial to those who miss physical interaction,” said junior Alex Kendall. 

With the good certainly comes some bad. There’s major controversy as to whether or not it’s safe to return.

“I don’t see why there is any reason for in person learning to be pushed so heavily while COVID is still a huge issue. If students can effectively work from home, which they have been for months, there isn’t any reason to potentially endanger thousands of people,” said Kendall. 

Students have been faced with a tough decision, whether to continue Distance Learning, where some struggle with isolation, or go back to in person with the risk of contracting or spreading the coronavirus. Some teachers don’t even have this choice as a certain amount of teachers are needed at the building.

“It’s unfair that teachers had almost no choice to go back or not, which means they’re exposing themselves to all of these students and fellow staff-mates,” said Reeves.

Teachers were given a form asking if they would like to return to school or continue teaching virtually but teachers opting to continue teaching from their homes are not guaranteed a virtual position due to logistics. There are approximately 1600 students in the virtual school with all of the other students returning to their home building. This has caused lots of uncertainty and confusion since teachers do not have their schedule yet.

“I don’t know for sure what I’ll be doing,” said English teacher Mark Bannecker.

Not knowing what they are teaching makes it difficult to plan and be prepared. Despite all the confusion that this abrupt change has brought, many are optimistic about the educational improvements that this change will make.

“Provided that we keep as few students in a classroom at a time and that we’re distanced, I feel okay about the plan,” said Bannecker. “There are still things that I’m unsure about how they’re going to work like passing between classes, but I know they’re working on those things.”

Even though in-person schooling may improve education and mental health, many are concerned about how the district plans on keeping students and staff safe while cases are still rising.

“Contract tracing is difficult, no matter how many precautions and methods are put into place. Asymptomatic spread is also an important issue to look at,” said Kendall. 

While many will choose to stay home, the decision to restart in-person school has brought optimism about the upcoming quarter. Parkway plans on gradually introducing students back into the building with a hybrid schedule beginning in November and later, a full five-week in-person schedule.

Because of COVID-19, plans for schooling have constantly been changing. Recently, Parkway students were given the opportunity to decide whether they would  continue online school or return to school in-person. 

For the school year so far, classes for students have been strictly online. Virtual learning is a new concept for most students, and although it ultimately offers a way to help prevent the spread of coronavirus, it comes with many pros and cons.

“Online school definitely has its ups and downs. What I like about it most is how my experience has been good. I’ve been pretty calm doing online work,” said junior Lauren Lam. 

A positive aspect of online school is being able to do it in the comfort of your own home and room, where you could easily access anything you would need for the day. In terms of mental health, anxiety has become less of an issue for some students as well. Students feel safe at home instead of in a room with people they feel uncomfortable with. 

“I’m pretty comfortable with doing online school since I’m in my room for all classes. I can say that my bedroom is like my safe place,” said Lam.

Along with being in the comfort of your own home and bed, some students have the comfort of their pets throughout the day too. 

“I like to have my dog, Fredo, with me during the day,” said senior Macy Nimock. “Many people have also adopted pets during quarantine for comfort as well.”

Sleep duration has  improved for many students with school starting later in the morning. In some circumstances, there may even be less homework which gives students the ability to go to sleep earlier.

“I tend to sleep from 12:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m.  solidly. I think it’s a little more sleep than I would normally get, which is nice,” said Nimock. 

Once second quarter begins, students who have chosen to go to school virtually will not be able to sleep in as late but still won’t have to get up as early as they would if they were in-person because they don’t have to travel to school and can get ready faster.

A pro of teaching online classes for English teacher Wendy Surinsky is being able to connect with her students again.

“My favorite part of teaching online classes is the same as my favorite part of teaching in-person classes, and that is getting to know and make connections with students, hear their beautiful thinking and see them grow,” said Surinsky.

The principle reason for virtual learning is to save lives. Over 200,000 Americans have died from COVID-19 and learning from home has helped prevent that number from rising any more.

“The other important part is that teaching online helps keep us safe from the virus,” said Surinsky. “Coronavirus rates aren’t exactly getting better, with around 8.19 million cases in the United States alone.” 

With the pros, there are also many cons of online classes. For instance, the big problem with online learning isn’t actually learning, but just isolation. Being alone and not being able to connect with people as much as before has taken a toll on students. 

“The thing I dislike about online school is not being able to meet people in person. Yes, it is good that everyone is staying home, but I do miss talking to people and building connections with others in person,” said Lam.

While some people enjoy the idea of wearing their pajamas and staying in their rooms for school, others don’t particularly enjoy the school at home experience. 

“It is hard for someone like me who tends to be very extraverted. I am semi-comfortable doing work from home, but I get distracted easily since it is not my typical work area,” said Nimock. 

Many students have other priorities,such as work or taking care of younger siblings, while they are learning virtually. If they were at school, they would be away from these things and be able to focus more on school. These things can easily add a lot of pressure and stress to students’ mental health. 

“My mental health is okay, not the greatest it could be, but the circumstances make it hard to balance all the core areas of my life such as social, academic, athletic and leisure,” said Nimock.

Online school has also been tough on teachers since most prefer interacting with students in person, rather than through a screen.

“It’s hard not being able to read students’ faces for understanding and confusion,” said Surinsky. “Teaching is all about the conversation among students and between students and teachers, and creating that conversation through a screen is often challenging.”

Due to virtual school, staring at a screen for a long time is now normal This is not physically or mentally healthy for anyone. It can cause eye strain, poor circulation, headaches, and back pain.

“By the end of the school day, I often end up feeling like Mike TeaVee, the character in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory’ who ends up inside a television set. I feel like I’m completely digitized,” said Surinsky.

At the end of the day, it is important to do what is required to protect ourselves and people around us, and one way of doing that is limiting social interactions by conducting online schooling. Although there are many opinions, both positive and negative, on school currently, the community should always keep in mind that coronavirus is still a big deal, and the ultimate pro of online school is our safety and health.