My Experience as a Virtual Student

This week's blog post is written by Isaac M., one of our virtual students in seventh grade.

Because three members of my family are at a high risk of having a severe case of COVID-19 if they catch it, I chose to be a virtual student this year. Getting into the Zoom meetings is easy, but what is sometimes difficult is really comprehending some of the material being presented to the students that are actually in school. However, I can email my teachers or speak to them through the microphone, and they take the time to be sure that I understand what has been confusing to me. Naturally when you are using technology, you can experience a lag or delay, or your teacher will occasionally freeze because the Wi-Fi connection may not be very good at that time. This has always been a temporary problem, and again the teachers understand that I am having difficulty and will be sure that I get caught up. This is my new normal.

There are also a lot of advantages of being virtual that you might not realize until you are actually doing it. I do not have to go to bed as early in the evenings because I do not have to get up as early in the mornings. I also enjoy having a bigger variety of food for lunch since I do not eat my lunch out of a lunchbox this year. During the school day, I get some breaks because I can not participate in classes like music or P.E. In Schoology, many of my assignments are easier to complete because I can type them into a document instead of filling in a handout.

Overall, I like virtual school this year. I mean, don’t tell Ms. Werner, but I can wear my uniform shirt with pajama pants, and no one will notice...business on the top, casual on the bottom. While being virtual is not as much fun as being with my friends and teachers in school, it is a small sacrifice to make to keep my family safe.