DM Musings: Thoughts on the Return to School
Middle school students are heading back to campus next week for the first time since Friday, March 13. That makes 241 days – almost 8 months! Of course, not all students are returning to campus and each student and family has made their decision based on a number of factors. The students of The Direct Message are no different. Here is what they think about the return to campus. Back to School! Can’t believe school is opening in the next few days! I wish I could see my friends during orientation week, but I am also worried at the same time. Those old days won’t be the same as today, social distancing, masks, not being able to play with friends together. At least, we get to see each other’s faces (the top half). For almost a half a year, the pandemic has made every school to not come and start online classes. And many parents were worried about looking at the screen for over 4 hours everyday (which will make your eyesight worse). So many other schools thought of dividing into groups and sending one group on Monday and the other group on Tuesday, etc. Even if I go to school, many things will change. No Tigers Kiosk (snacks), water fountain (for drinking), no going to the cafeteria, and many other places that are restricted due to the pandemic. School is opening soon! It’s been great doing virtual learning but I’m ready to go back to school. But I don’t think I’m going to be going for a few weeks because my parents want to see how Hybrid learning is going, and then depending on that, they will send me to school. With school finally starting again everybody has different opinions on the heavily-weighed topic. I think that returning to school can only be successful when the proper precautions are taken. Schools provide opportunities for children to learn social and emotional skills, exercise, access to mental health support, Internet, and healthy meals. Students don’t always have access to these vital services while participating in distance learning. I think opening schools is a smart step towards restoring our normal but we should do everything we can to prevent anybody from catching COVID-19. School is finally starting again. After 241 days We can finally meet my friends,teachers, and just be on the campus again. But Corona never got any better! So why are we going back? The school is making strict guidelines and rules we must follow for everyone to hopefully remain safe. I was thinking about it and those rules are going to be hard to follow although we have been following those rules until now. Now those rules are in our everyday life not just when you step outside to buy groceries. Now from 8:30-3:30 (7hours a day) we have to follow the rules. Going to school could also be a benefit for us. I think that in person learning is much more efficient/effective than online school, you can directly ask questions, we can use Aes’s campus effectively and socially we will be better if we come to school. Half a year ago we were still in school when COVID-19 became a problem. Lockdown started for 1 month, prolonged into 2 months, and it started a cycle. Working from home has now become everyday life. Now school is opening again; in a sense this will be more shocking than the lockdown was. We now have to do social distancing, masks, and eat lunch in advisory classrooms. For the past months I have been seeing my family every day, eating lunch with them, it’s been a fantastic experience. I am spending so much time with my family. With Zooms, I now have the opportunity to see my teachers and my classmates while being at home. I can have snacks whenever I want, take breaks in the middle of school, I feel more independent, I have a choice of what to do and when to do it. Why would I want to go back to even stricter rules when I have all this freedom? Welcome back to school, please wear your mask and keep your distance from other people. If you don’t know your group your parents got an email. We have not been in school for a while and it’s your choice to come or not, but if you do it’ll be very fun.