The infectious disease known as the Coronavirus or COVID-19 has caused pandemonium throughout the world. Due to this, all schools in New Jersey have been shut down for at least two weeks implementing distance learning.
On March 16, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced that all public and private schools would close for a minimum of two weeks starting March 18. Along with schools, malls, casinos, and restaurants have all been shut down due to the spread of this virus. As of March 19, there have been a total of 742 confirmed cases of the Coronavirus, and it’s expecting to increase over time.
Since March 16, all Woodbridge Township Schools have decided to shut down for two weeks. In the meantime, all students still need to complete their work, except all the information is online. This has been a rough adjustment for students and teachers because this has never happened in the history of Woodbridge Township.
Schedule
Each day students must submit their attendance on their first block teachers Google Classroom by 9: 20 a.m. In Google Classroom, teachers will write out the assignment for the day, and students must complete them by a specific time. This sounds simple enough; however, a majority of students prefer going to school over learning online. Out of 20 students, 17 preferred going to school, whereas only three enjoyed learning from home.
Pros
Voicing their opinions on distance learning, students share what they like and dislike about the change.
Although many wish to be back at school, there has been some positive feedback regarding distance learning. One student who is for this change in Senior Trisha Valeriano.
“I like the fact that I get to do things on my own time,” Valeriano stated. “I do not have to wait for others or the lesson, I can learn at my pace.”
Another thing students said they liked about distance learning is the fact that they can sleep in later. Normally students would have to be ready for school before 7:50 a.m. With distance learning in effect, students can stay home in the comfort of their beds. Sophomore Christia Assa, also expressed her satisfaction with the new schedule.
“I like how I have control over when I do my work and what work I would do first,” Assa stated. “It has been really good for my mental health because I am able to give myself breaks and not overwork myself too much.”
Cons
Even though students had positive things to say about distance learning, the majority of them wish to go back to the way things were. Many students have agreed that it is much harder to learn things over the internet than it is to be in a classroom setting. Some classes, such as math or science, are challenging to learn without a teacher present. Although teachers are available via email, it isn’t the same as being in class. Senior Michael Gfroehrer, says he would prefer going to school.
“I’m currently taking American Sign Language, which is hard to learn over the internet,” Gfroehrer said. “Also, classes such as gym or band don’t apply for having daily work.”
Junior Melanie Cruz, also expressed how the workload now is harder and how she would rather head back to school.
“I don’t have a good working environment, and I can’t work as easily and as fast as I do in school,” Cruz said. “Some of my classes are doing more work now than I would’ve been doing in school, such as gym. I have to write essays for gym, which is annoying because that doesn’t help me stay fit whatsoever, completely diminishes the purpose of a gym class.”
Although students and faculty may not like distance learning, this is something the can be seen in the foreseeable future. There are strong chances that the schools will be shut down for longer than two weeks due to this pandemic. Hopefully, the class of 2020 will be able to enjoy their senior year and graduate. However, right now, the chances aren’t looking promising.
