Given the limitations that COVID-19 has brought upon the 2020-2021 school year, education has greatly differed. Teachers need to find new ways to educate their students in this new, restricted environment. 

The coronavirus has caused this school year to be none like any before. The number of students in school at one time is extremely restricted, with regulations including limiting the sharing of materials and keeping masks on at all times. The peculiarity extends to the full-time distance learning students, who are not interacting in the school at all. With all of the new precautions taken, everyone has to adapt to the changes. 

“It is harder to do anything collaborative right now, unless it’s virtually,” Ms. Lawrence said via an email interview, “Even then, students are still quieter when on the computer than when face-to-face, even if working in virtual groups” 

The difficulty does not just stop with the strange new school. Students cannot use lockers anymore, and they are not allowed to bring books for classes to and from the classroom on a daily basis anymore. 

“There are less students in the class at a time. I hand out supplies as needed that go into a students’ ‘media kit’ to prevent sharing and I ask the student to bring in their own supplies for safety purposes,” Ms. Strain said when asked about how the art room is managing supplies.

With all the madness going on, most people agree that the school is doing the best it can to manage the health and safety of students and faculty, but many things are missed from the past years.

When asked what she missed most about previous years Ms. Laurence said, “I miss seeing students’ unhindered personalities and dynamics with each other. School definitely feels like a less social place this year, lower energy…”

It is true that most people look back wishing school could be what it once was, and everyone must do their best to wait out this strange time and look forward to a positive future.