“Yay we have an extra week of spring break!” is how everything started. Everyone was happy to not have school until online learning started. Many students love online school and staying in bed all day, but others see the consequences. Throughout this pandemic and not going to school for over a year, many students feel uncomfortable being in public and socializing. Students that have social anxiety became used to not needing to talk and participate in class, but when regular school comes around, that’s something they will need to worry about. Many students also say that in online learning they receive more homework. I talked to three people: a teacher, parent, and student. Let’s see what their opinion is and what they think is better.

Adina Kiriac:

Adina Kiriac is a Language Arts and journalism teacher at Sam Barlow High School. As a teacher, she thinks hybrid is the better option because “it allows students to receive that face-to-face instruction that is crucial to understanding the curriculum. Teaching and learning are meant to have human interaction to be successful and I think that is what we’ve been lacking with online learning.” Kiriac also stated that online learning is a good option because students can be in class from anywhere. Many of her students have gone on vacations and they could still participate in class thanks to online learning. “But then again, online learning can also be difficult,” Kiriac mentioned. “Students have to deal with WiFi issues, distractions at home, and lack of participation.” Each option has its pros and cons but Kiriac being a teacher, hybrid learning is the better option for her and any other teacher. “I am a teacher that feeds off of the student’s energy and when I’m teaching in an empty room to a screen full of profile pictures and no one is responding in the chat, I can’t tell if my students understand the lesson or if they need help. It can be a bit difficult.”

Olga Budzik

Olga Budzik is a parent of a student that goes to Sam Barlow High school. She likes the hybrid learning option better. “It’s something different,” explained Budzik. “Students see more people and can easily interact with friends and teachers.” Budzik dislikes how little socializing there is with online school. All students do is stare at a screen all day. But there are also some things that she doesn’t like about hybrid learning too. “If students go to school, they should go for the whole day and not just for two hours,” she stated. Even though Budzik isn’t a huge fan of any of the options, she still prefers hybrid learning because there is at least a little bit of interaction with people.

Bri Tello:

Bri Tello is a student at Sam Barlow High School. She also thinks hybrid learning is the better choice. “You can physically ask for help and get into details and see your mistakes instead of going back and forth with screens.” Tello also mentioned that with hybrid learning, “you can spend less time on your screen and decrease your stress.” As a student, she feels like the teachers assign way too much homework during online learning which results in more screen time. “Hybrid learning can help me with my mental health instead of being stuck at home all the time,” stated Tello. 

Everyone is different and has their own opinions, but after interviewing three people, each with a different role, it seems like the majority of people do prefer hybrid learning over online learning.