A Covid School Year By Bee Kanew, 10

MANHATTAN, NY– Who on earth would think that you would ever have to wear a mask to school? Doing school online?  You’ve gotta be kidding me. Staying 6 feet apart? What!? Well, that is reality now. Schools all over the world have to change the system to make it safe for kids to attend even during a pandemic. 

There are many differences between a normal school year and a Covid school year, such as remote learning, social distancing, mask wearing, and pod learning. 

One student named Ava Resnick, who is doing remote school, shared her perspective on how her school, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, handled it. Her school has a hybrid schedule. That means that half of the time is spent remote, and the other half in person. But some people, like Ava, are choosing not to go to school in person. 

“It’s a good system in my school,” she thinks, but she also states there are some challenges too. “You can’t go up to your teachers and ask questions. Sometimes it can be stressful because you feel like you need to get your questions answered at that time.” She notes that she has a lot of free time because sometimes her school doesn’t give that much work during remote days. So she gave some tips on what to do if you are in that situation. “I do writing and reading. And if I want to write down what is happening in my life it is good to do a journal. I like to do art and connecting with friends is always great. Also it is good to just do whatever and take a break. You can always ask our teachers for extra work if you want to stay busy.”

I also interviewed a parent, my dad Evan Kanew, whose kid (me) is going to school in person. “In many ways it’s challenging to share an office and a school because we’re all on different schedules and we have to figure out how to work around each other. It’s sometimes really hard when one person needs to make noise but luckily we learned to cooperate. It’s also fun to get to spend time together especially at lunch time and to hang out during breaks.” He also addressed what it is like knowing his kid is at school with other people even though Coronavirus is still going around. “I think the school has worked hard to come up with a good plan.” Everyone has to be very safe at school to make sure they will not bring the virus to their home. Evan thinks that his family is very safe and careful, but there is something he can never know for sure. “The one thing that worries me is not knowing how other people treat the rules. Fortunately we have friends who we trust.” 

There are definitely upsides to remote learning, such as less possible exposure to the virus, more time with family, and more free time. But there are some pretty big downsides, too. Not getting to see friends and teachers, less exercise, and many many, more.

Schools all over the world have to rethink the average school year because of this crazy time, and all of them might not work the same way as others. We all have to adapt to a new way of life. A Covid way of life, just like a Covid way of school.