With the holiday season fast approaching, many students and faculty travel to visit and spend time with their families. A year ago, people would be packing their suitcases and catching a flight to their destination; a week later, coming back to school telling all of their friends about what they got for presents and where they went. This year all of that will change. 

 Although some students may travel outside of New England, all students are to quarantine for two weeks after the break is over. With that, comes two weeks of online classroom work. As of now, students will be sitting in their houses, facing a computer screen and doing zoom classes everyday with the same times of a regular school day.

Roughly six hours of zoom everyday. 

As a student here at Westborough High School, my education is very important to me. Since the beginning of COVID and starting online schooling in March, I’ve struggled with having to sit still and stare at a screen for a majority of my day. The most important thing for me as a student is knowing I will be able to do my schoolwork in a timely manner and completing all of my assignments on time and efficiently. 

Sitting at home at my desk is a very different environment compared to sitting at a desk at school. At home, there are more distractions, less motivation and limited access to materials that may be needed. Being at school, I allow myself to focus on tasks, I have helpful resources such as classmates and teachers in the same room as me, and it’s an environment that I’ve grown up in and am used to this learning system. 

I have lost motivation, especially it being my senior year. I used to look forward to going to school and socializing with friends. However, this year I haven’t been able to find the light at the end of the tunnel.

Being remote for two weeks after winter break or any type of vacation, can be a lot for the students and teachers as well. Constant work that piles up can cause stress upon the students and loss of motivation to complete their assignments. It also is a way for students to fall behind. If they don’t understand what they’re learning, it is very easy for students to drop back and struggle to complete their work without the help right by their side. For myself, I know that six hours of zoom would be a lot. I understand that we are doing remote for the sake of our health and our families which I 100%  agree with; the only concept that is difficult for me, is how remote learning could affect my grades and mental health. 

Personally, I enjoyed what we did the last quarter of March through June. We had 3 to 4 zoom classes a day until about 12 pm and then we would have the remainder of our classes the next day along with work to do from previous classes. This allowed me to get my daily education, less screen time and more time in my day to get my work completed as well as my other daily tasks being done. 

With all of that being said, I am grateful for WHS and how they have handled this current situation during these troubled times. My teachers have put in so much effort and understanding and I couldn’t be more thankful for that.