Walking into school, hoping to see friends in their half of the alphabet and trying to find classes while following the arrows, everyone’s excited to see their friends and find their seats. 

Waking up early to get ready was definitely a big change, but the nerves of getting judged by new people and called on during class were the same as every other year. Wiping down desks was new to everyone as well. It’s another thing that will most likely become natural for students to do after entering the classroom.

Some more daily requirements that will become a habit around school are: applying hand sanitizer, wearing face masks and wiping down desks before entering and leaving them, which helps keep the school safe and healthy until everyone gets the vaccine. The one-way arrows in the halls make sure students keep their distance and not run into each other. With students and teachers working together, maybe everyone will be together by the end of the school year.

For now, the teachers keep classes comfortable and let the student body know they’re not alone. Teachers help keep students engaged now that they see people’s distractions or when they need a break. Besides, nobody wants to get yelled at, which helps keep the class focused, instead of daydreaming or going on their phones.

During online school, most students say it’s hard to pay attention and claim they don’t learn as much because they haven’t focused while at home. This leads to worries of struggling to catch up and getting bad grades. Luckily, now that school is back in person, it’s easier to ask questions and communicate with the teacher, especially because students don’t have to unmute and adjust cameras in front of the class. Asking questions, getting to know people and telling jokes or stories brings much less awkwardness when in person.

Hybrid is an entirely new beast that the schools never experienced before, with struggles like:  making sure both the students at home and in school pay attention and hear the teacher, teachers forgetting they’re muted or teens forgetting to mute themselves and hearing the other half of the class or communicating with them. On the flip side, face-to-face learning allows students to meet new people since some of the social groups might be split up by alphabet. When students are in person it’s easier to focus and create a student-teacher bond along with not having to worry about computer malfunctions.

While communication and computer malfunctions make a school day difficult, students may come out of this school year with new friends and good grades now that everybody can focus and problem solve together, which makes in-person learning worthwhile.