2020 is definitely a year that most people would like to forget about, but it is simply a year that one will remember for years to come mainly due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, many things have changed in ways that nobody ever thought would happen – especially with education and schools. Most schools, including Eastern, have opted to do a remote learning school year where classes will strictly be conducted via the internet. Here at Eastern, while it’s unclear whether or not students will be doing remote learning the entire school year, it’s happening to start off the school year. As expected, there have been good things that have come out of remote learning at Eastern and bad things. 

It’s easy for some. Getting up at 8:30 in the morning every weekday and logging onto six Zoom sessions a day seems easy. 

It seems easy because it is easy. There will never be an easier school year than 2020. With all classes being online and virtual, it leaves students with opportunities that wouldn’t be present should school be in-person this year. Students wouldn’t be able to be free of the normal distractions they would get in class, such as being around friends and influences that would pull your attention away from what was being taught. The same problem happens with virtual school, however it’s easily fixable compared to in-person school.

Students are able to easily manage distractions that are present at home. It would be difficult to say that students could also potentially manage distractions that are present at school.

At home, students are distracted by their television, phone, and other electronic devices that pull their attention away from the Zoom session and their assignments. Easy fix. Find a spot in your house that is free of all of that to sit down and really focus. It is what I did and it really works well for the first two weeks of school. In school, it’s completely different for obvious reasons.

Positives that come out of remote learning vary for each student. However, for me, it’s the simplicity. School is much more simple and easier because of the fact that it is online. Lesson plans are changed accordingly to accommodate the remote school learning. It’s worked for some students so far, some seeing a good grade compared to what they would get in in-person schooling.