Back To The Future: The Return From Remote

Back To The Future: The Return From Remote By Caylin Hawkins

"We long to return to normal, but normal led to this.” - Ed Yong

It was only my first year at Four Rivers, and it was marred by crises. But finally-finally!-we are transitioning to in-person learning. To be totally honest, I am nervous. I haven’t been inside most of the school or talked to many in my grade. Even in saying this, my opinion is that the Four Rivers community is doing a phenomenal job at sticking together and making learning a priority through this challenging time.

This pandemic has taken its toll on learning in too many ways to count: excelling in some areas, messing up in others, with too many distractions, or without the help we need. I spoke to some community members who say that online school has been easier for them, as assignments are more spread out and organized. I also know that a lot of my peers loved the pre-pandemic learning model, and were more apt to go to school and participate. I was curious to take on more, so I held a meeting with some of my classmates and teachers, and they all shared their opinions, questions, and concerns about the shift from remote to in-person learning.

Jackie MacNeish, Div 1 Social Studies teacher, and my crew leader, talked about how seeing her students socialize is one of the things she misses most about pre-pandemic learning. “I think for me as a teacher, the teaching part online has gone well,” she said. “There’s a lot of things in the classroom that teachers juggle, and so many of those are just not there online, so it is so much less to juggle. But what I so miss is the talking part, when we get into individual conversations that go deeper on a topic,” said Ms. MacNeish

Ms. MacNeish told me and my peers that she doesn’t expect us to be able to effectively learn by reading out of books all day. “I’ve shifted what we're doing for Social Studies really significantly because I recognize that there is going to have been such a lack of social time,” she added, mentioning having a priority of socializing and celebrating. “So yes, I think it's going to be ‘a perfect storm’ of all of these emotions and feelings, and I’m just trying to allow for that.” I personally am also nervous about being able to focus, so I’m thankful to hear that my teachers are thinking about ways to find a solution.

As a community, there is so much we can do to try to make the transition from remote learning to in-person learning as smooth and safe as possible. It is important for everyone returning to school that we care about and follow the guidelines put in place, as they are there for a reason - to keep us all safe. It is also important to recognize that everyone’s pandemic lives have been different, and that could affect our return to school, individually and as a group.

Fellow student Ivy Newcombe vocalized her concerns with online learning, commenting, “When you’re working really hard, just behind a computer screen in your house, nobody is gonna know that, so I feel like when we are in-person we will get more recognition.” Newcombe mentioned that remote learning is really hard because our parents’ attention is divided, so it will be great to go back in person and have the teacher help and recognition that parents might not be able to provide.

During remote learning, many have felt alone, even if they are stuck at home with people. “The amount of isolation is a little bit more than even my introverted nature wants, and I feel like I can’t even fully appreciate the moments I have to myself now because I have too much of it, it’s caused inflation, so now it’s not worth anything to me,” said Zach Podhorzer, 8th Grade ELA teacher. He spoke on the fact that he, like many others during this trying time, had to revisit old demons. Coronavirus - more specifically, isolation - has brought up things from the past that many people have had to face, causing stress and sometimes conflict in the present. It has added heartache to the already trying times we are facing.

8th grader Loie Acton promptly agreed with him, stating, “I’m an extrovert in a lot of ways, so I want to be with people, but not being with people has made me feel so anxious about being with people.” As a recently-turned introvert myself, I know that much of society has had to deal with an increase in social anxiety because of this pandemic.

I truly believe that every individual’s encounter with COVID-19 has affected the way that they interact with others; especially the way that they learn. This pandemic has sparked many movements and shut down others. It has brought tears and bloodshed. It has hindered our lives in many ways, and our world will not be the same. As students and teachers, and as fellow humans who experience emotions, we will have to be sensitive to this as we begin to see our peers daily. Our transition from remote learning relies heavily on our own personal journeys and hardships within the pandemic. We must attempt to cater to our mental needs as a group, to the well-being of our community. We must bring light and clarity to the manner in which the pandemic has changed us all.