Staying Home, Staying Safe

With the increase of COVID-19 cases and Orange County entering the purple zone, many individuals are making the switch from hybrid to fully online school, arguing the many benefits of this transition. 

In a student’s life, one of their most important focuses is grades. After the mandatory quarantine in March, when everyone experienced the new way of online learning, several students discovered that they preferred the online method of school, regardless of the COVID conditions. 

Once hybrid-learning started, many who started off in hybrid quickly learned that online was the way to go; they could pay more attention, get more sleep, and have more study time in between classes. 

“I definitely prefer online. Mainly because I can just spend the whole day in my pajamas and I can skip a few steps in my morning routine. Another benefit is that I get more sleep. And since I’m very comfortable in my room, paying attention is much easier because there’s not too many distractions. Because of this, I’d say I’m a better online learner,” said sophomore, Luke Loftus. 

Virtual school is preferred by students mainly for the many benefits relating to their time and work ethic, however there are also many individuals that choose to stay home in order to keep their family safe and healthy.

As many students live with or very close to their grandparents, right now is a very important time to make smart and responsible decisions. Because elders are even more at risk when it comes to contracting COVID-19, many students are doing everything they can to make sure their grandparents aren’t exposed to the CoronaVirus. 

“My family is super lucky to have my grandparents living walking distance. My grandparents are grateful to be strong and healthy, but we still wouldn’t want them to get sick. Because my grandparents are with us, staying online limits the people I see, just to be on the safe side,” said Taylor Schmidt, a junior at SJHHS. 

Many other families also have medical reasons that make the decision of going all online fairly easy. Sophomore Carina Locke has been doing virtual learning from the very beginning of school, a decision made to confine in her mother’s health. 

“My mom’s immune system is compromised so my family did not want to risk anyone getting the virus, who could give it to my mom. We have all been home since March, the only time we have really left was to go to the doctors’ office one or two times and maybe an occasional fast food run. It has definitely been rough for my family not going anywhere or seeing anyone, especially since it was all so sudden, but we are getting through it and have hope for the new year,” said Locke. 

So yes, it’s simple to transfer to online school to accommodate for personal benefits like better sleep and wearing pajamas all day, but it’s crucial to keep others in mind and realize that many students don’t have a choice and this pandemic is not something to take lightly. 

“I would say that if everyone were to follow the guidelines and wear masks, COVID can be over quicker and everything can go back to normal faster. But, nothing will return to normal if people are not doing as they should to protect others as other people are taking their time to protect you,” said Locke.