Student’s Opinions: Back to School

Some Barlow students are getting ready to take a step forward to normal life again. From April 19th-22nd, Barlow is planning on opening its doors and welcoming its students back into the hum and bustle of high school life. After more than a year of being out of school, this will be a strange experience for everyone. People of Oregon have awaited and quarantined through many new and unfamiliar rules, and this finally might be our chance to get back into the swing of things. But what are student’s opinions on this matter?

Nervous? Excited? Worried? A year is a long time to go without most social interaction and meeting new people. Most students seem to have a mix of feelings about in-person, but Michael Merenov, a freshman at Barlow, is eager to go back. When asked what his opinions were about in-person school, he said “I’m nervous to go back because it’s been a while.” He went on to say that he’s most looking forward to socializing and being with his friends, which a lot of other students seem to agree with. 

On the other hand, though, some students are reluctant to go back. Krissa Walden, another freshman at Barlow, states, “It’s a good thing that schools are reopening. It’s a good way for some kids to have more help in class. Personally, though, I will not be attending.” This seems to be a shared opinion for about ¼ of students. 

It seems that some students have come to enjoy certain parts of working from home. Lucy Crecelius says, “Online school was nice because I could create my schedule instead of someone making it for me.” This sentiment seems to hit home with countless students across the country. People have had a lot of time to themselves, and the absence of structure is allowing students to come up with their agendas, or lack thereof. Depending on who you are though, this could be either beneficial or destructive. 

A recurring theme on going back to school is that people all seem to agree that in-person would be better for students, whether it be social interactions, or focusing on and turning in the work itself. We’ve seen this all over the news, and class participation has been at an all-time low. It’s hard to focus on school when there’s a ton of other distractions at home, including social media, siblings, and even parents. Additionally, Wifi and faulty charging could mean no school for a day. What do students think is better? “I think in person is going to be better because a lot of students are struggling as-is in virtual homeschooling and I think they’d learn a lot more in school,” Pierson Melcher answered. You can see that this is a shared opinion.