Evan Huggins
Staff Reporter
4 December 2020
Dealing with COVID – 19 has changed many things for everybody, including how teachers instruct, how students learn, and how students all relate to each other. While some students may find online learning more challenging than in-person learning, others may find it easier. Online school provides different experiences for students who are introverts compared to those who are extroverts.
Andrew Marr, an outgoing student at Atholton High School, thinks that virtual learning is more difficult than in-person leaning. On the other hand, Kevin Berry, an introverted student at Hammond High School, thinks online school is easier and likes some of the perks that come with it.
“It is a lot less awkward to ask for help online,” said Berry. Nevertheless, he still wishes he could make a strong personal connection with his teacher, like he could in-person. “It is more comfortable to ask for help in-person because it is not as awkward as having to turn on the mic and interrupt the teacher and the class to ask a question,” said Marr. Although, he does enjoy how much easier organization has become.
However different introverts and extroverts may seem, Berry and Marr both said that they believe online school will affect their grades. Andrew said, “long term assignments like writing a paper and making presentations are harder because of less contact with my teacher and will hurt my grades. But I think that short term assignments, like worksheets, will help my grades.’’
For extroverts, being alone can make it hard to focus. They can easily get distracted by things that would not affect them in a regular school setting. Marr gave examples of several things that distract him like his phone, noise from his sister’s class, and the sound of his mom working. On the other hand, Berry said, “It’s easier to focus on work because there are no distractions.” For some people, in-person learning is more distracting because of the presence of their friends and others in the classroom.
Online school is also challenging for teachers. Devin White, a history teacher at Atholton, thinks online teaching is extremely difficult. He said that a major challenge is that most of his students don’t turn their camera on, which makes him feel like he is talking to himself. He also said “I firmly believe my students learn more from in-person teaching.’’
Mr. White believed that it is harder to share as much information online as he can when students are in his classroom with him. He said “I am unable to delve as deep as I would like into historical subject matter while teaching online.’’
Mr. White looks forward to having students back in school. When asked what he likes about online school, he said, “honestly, I enjoy absolutely nothing about online teaching. I became a teacher to interact and work with my students.”
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