By Leila Hamdi
During the months of March till June 2020, we found ourselves confused as us students along with teachers had to learn how to conform to this “new normal”. Now we are going through the same thing again. It feels as if we are back to square one. This new shift started right after our holiday break (January 4th). When government officials informed us that we won’t be going back to school for in person learning till January 25th. Though on January 12th we received news that we wouldn’t be going back until the 10th of February. I felt it would be interesting to include the viewpoint of a few Harbord students and how remote learning has been beneficial to them or a disadvantage to their learning capabilities and mental health well being.
“Personally I think that online learning has its ups and downs, although it is hard to learn on an online platform because it gives no one on one time with the teacher. However I do think that it’s beneficial because it’s keeping us safe through this terrible time.” (Savanah Braithwaite-Campbell)
“Personally for me I have mixed feelings about it. The benefits would be that I get to sleep in longer and I don’t have to travel all the way to school. The disadvantages for me are that I have to stare at a computer screen for over 3 hours and I lose focus. I also feel better when I’m in class and I get to interact with the classroom and the teacher” (Matias Alvarez)
“I’ve been doing remote learning since this quadmester started (Novembre 23rd) and I love it because I don’t have to travel back and forth to school or pay for the subway anymore and just being at home makes me comfortable. Though, staying at home all the time can get overwhelming because I can’t go out. But sometimes if I need fresh air I’ll go out, get some groceries or go skating at an ice rink because they’re open” (Sahara Iman)
“Personally I think it has been a huge boost to the grades of most people. Which would appear to be great but I think the shift to remote learning has definitely taken a toll on the actual learning aspect of school. With so little time and so much to cover we spend the majority of the time memorizing for tests. Then forgetting all that material once that quad ends. It has also been difficult to keep a routine now that we cannot go to school every other day. As a result of that there isn't anything to stop us from staying in bed while being in school” (Daniel Botsko)
From the responses we got we can conclude that the shift to remote learning is unquestionably different and some like it and find it beneficial and others find it a bit difficult to adjust to.