A Semester of Online

When sophomore Josie Gowen logs onto her French 3 Webex classroom it looks different. It’s a little bit harder to keep up with the 30 moving screens when her class is filled with people she’s never seen before, and listening to a teacher you’ve never met before isn’t nearly as welcoming online.

Every student is adjusting to this strange new reality — but for Gowen and the others who chose the semester-long remote option, it’s become even further from the norm, since classes are filled with students and teachers from all schools across the district. 

When SMSD sent out a survey over the summer for parents and students to choose their preferred method of school, 71% chose the hybrid model out of the 27,000 respondents. The 29% of students who selected the remote approach were mixed into classes regardless of which SMSD school they attend, and they remained in this grouping when the rest of the district moved to virtual.

If SMSD does move students back to an in-person setting for classes this semester, those who originally selected the virtual option will remain virtual, as the decision was for a full semester.

Even when it was an option to do remote, it was a difficult choice for Gowen, as she wanted to be in-person, but her parents thought it would be safest to select the remote option.

“It was [a hard choice] because school was like, one of my favorite parts of everything,” Gowen said. “I just really liked school because I’m a very extroverted person, so it’s hard to be alone so much.”

Luckily, Gowen has found that she has at least one friend in each class, so if she needs clarity on her Chem lab or a partner for an English project, she has someone.

While Gowen went back and forth on the best learning option for her, senior Deirdre Poague knew a semester of fully remote learning was best for her. 

To be in-person for her classes as a student in the Center for Academic Achievement’s (CAA) Biotechnology research program, she had to remain virtual for the rest of her East classes. Although both East and CAA classes are online right now, Poague would remain remote for East classes if they move back in-person, but she’d begin attending in-person classes at the CAA.

“Everyone’s really made a different decision,” Poague said. “But [the decision] was made a lot easier knowing I could do Biotech if I went online.”

Poague found it hard to get to know the students before breakout rooms were added. Since the feature has been added she has gotten to know students from other schools, and has ended up becoming friends with some and following them on Instagram.

However, working with students across the district wasn’t completely new to her, as her Biotechnology classes at the CAA are with students from across the district as well. Now her only class of only East students is Government, which she doesn’t mind.

According to Gowen, there are more East students than those from other high schools in her classes.

“We don’t normally have multiple kids from the same school who are in the class, unless it’s East,” Gowen said. “It’s normally one from each school [other than East students], kind of, so they just don’t really know anybody, which is a little weird.”

This change also leaves a different impact for teachers as well, according to East Psychology teacher Brett Kramer, who is teaching students who chose the remote learning option. With groups of students who may have never seen each other, it’s even harder to get them to talk or interact in class.

“They are the least talkative bunch,” Kramer said. “Now don’t get me wrong, every class is less talkative than they would be if they were in person. But that group, it’s been a challenge.”

According to Kramer, it’s also difficult to develop personal relationships with the students and overall class.

“They don’t know anything about this community, and we don’t know their communities as well as they do,” Kramer said. “And that’s not anything that comes into play frequently, but it is nice to be able to say, ‘who’s on the volleyball schedule this week,’ and stuff like that.”

Regardless, both students and teachers are making the best of the situation, and some, like Kramer, are looking for the silver lining.

“I think that there’s been some perks to it,” Kramer said. “It’s neat to get to know other students, even if it’s not in the same school. And I’m hoping, of course, that that continues throughout definitely the semester. But for as long as I have them, I think it’s kind of neat.”