by Kai Pegg: Staff Writer
The school year of 2020-2021 was either a hybrid of remote learning and in person, or a full year of remote learning for BHS. BHS students are practically experts on running Google Meets and Google Classroom. But at the start of the 2021-2022 school year, we all thought it was over for good and we’d never have to do another day of school from our beds or kitchen tables. Covid conditions are improving, vaccines are available and masks are no longer required. But imagine everyone’s surprise when we received an email saying that school on April 29th would be remote, not due to covid, but to staffing shortages.
Enough teachers called out due to sickness or other reasons that in person learning couldn’t be done. I know I don’t only speak for myself when I say some flashbacks began to come back when I logged onto Google meets for my 1st period class. Very few students had a positive experience with virtual learning last year, and although this situation is temporary, it brings up a lot of forgotten memories of being stuck at home, learning from your computer with your class being nothing but a bunch of icons. Even just for one day, the human interaction with our classmates and teachers is missed.
Teachers are just as unhappy about today’s events as the student are, Mrs. Gustad had this to say about today’s events, "It is unfortunate that Brighton High School had to switch to remote learning today. Remote learning was hard for so many students and teachers, and today felt like a step-backwards. In-person learning is so essential for mental health. ". Most students are in agreement with Mrs Gustad. Even just one more day of virtual learning feels like it adds a massive barrier to learning.
It’s hard to say if the school had any other choice in how to handle the staffing shortages. Although for a lot of us, remote learning today will make for a long and boring day, I know I’m grateful that this should only be a temporary problem, and unlike the pandemic era of online schooling, we will get to return next week to enjoy being around our friends and peers, and we all hope that the staffing problems will never reach this level again.
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