When The World First Went Virtual…

In March of 2020, the entire country was told we would need to go on lockdown for a few weeks to get the Covid-19 virus under control and prevent it from spreading. It was all fun and games for most students at first, with memes popping up on social media and jokes being told to make light of the virus. Not to mention the excitement, and perhaps concern, many of us felt knowing that we would be converting to virtual schooling and would learn from the comfort of our own home. However, not too soon after, we realized that the state of our world was nothing like what we had known prior and wouldn’t be for the foreseeable future.

What Do The Statistics Say?

Every student, whether physically in a classroom or not, is going to have a different learning experience. Outside factors are a tremendous factor in this, particularly when it comes to at-home learning. For example, households with more children might be more chaotic during the day, impacting the student’s ability to focus. On the flip side, many students could find comfort in the fact that they have control over their learning environment and complete work in a setting of their own choice, similar to the independence and responsibility one would receive in college. Regardless, according to The University of Potomac, “77% of educators believe that online learning is just as good as traditional learning, if not better” and 70% of their students agree. Also, in-person students had scored in the 50th percentile on standardized tests while online ones were placing 9 percentiles higher. Interestingly, opinions on this topic at Ramapo seem to be unique to each student.

How Do Our Students Feel?

Ramapo has quite a varying group of students when it comes to culture, personality, and character. So naturally, everyone’s virtual learning experience is bound to be different. Ramapo junior Taylor Pina explains that “being online made it much easier for [her] to put off school work” and she “found it difficult to stay on task while in-person sort of forces [her] to do so.” Another student, also a junior, says that “in-person school was always a cause of anxiety for [them] and the option to stay home truly benefited [their] mental health.” Understandably, some students thrived in this virtual setting while others found it difficult to adjust and keep on top of their responsibilities. Mr. DelBuono, a history teacher here at Ramapo, thinks it’s important to keep in mind that we “lived through a historic event” and that “the pandemic was hard on everyone, but both students and staff rose to the challenge and continue to do so as we get back to normal.”

A New Normal

All in all, it seems as though whether in-person or online school is more beneficial solely depends on the person you ask. But as of right now, our main focus as a school is on continuing our education and doing our best to adapt to this unique, post-pandemic society as young students with bright futures ahead of us.