Students Sound Off: Listen up teachers and administrators ...
Long Island students have advice for administrators and teachers about what they've learned during the coronavirus pandemic. Credit: Getty Images/iStock
Newsday asked a number of students who appeared in the weekly "Way to Go!" section of the School Notebook in 2020: "What would you change about your school’s hybrid and/or remote-learning models for the second half of the school year?" Here are their answers.
Jack Sadler, a senior at Chaminade High School in Mineola.. Credit: Ray O’Connor Photography
JACK SADLER, senior, Chaminade High School, Mineola
Chaminade High School is one of the few schools on Long Island to have students attend classes in person five days a week. Spacing constraints have required the administration to be creative with the scheduling. Upperclassmen, like myself, have live instruction for half of the day and independent learning for the other half of the day. At first I was skeptical about this unusual hybrid model, but it has worked out well. This experience has highlighted the value of a teacher explaining a new subject, so if I could change anything about Chaminade's approach to the pandemic, it would be to livestream certain classes during the time we are learning independently.
I also applaud Long Island Catholic schools for allowing certain fall sports to be played. It was nice to have a cross-country season and experience the camaraderie of being on a team. I strongly believe in-person education is the best way to learn and, although I never thought I would say this, I look forward to returning to a normal five-day-a-week schedule. I am hopeful this will happen in the spring.
Sage Spiegelman, a junior at Roslyn High School. Credit: Deborah Spiegelman
SAGE SPIEGELMAN, junior, Roslyn High School
I feel that my school district has done an excellent job transitioning students to a hybrid learning model during the pandemic. I am thankful that I can attend in-person classes every other day and attend virtual extra help and school clubs online.
One thing I would do differently in the second half of the school year would be to implement a "peer-partner" program, or a "buddy" system. I know that many students are feeling isolated and lonely due to the pandemic and could use a "buddy." Every student would be matched with a peer in their grade. Before being matched, each student would fill out a questionnaire expressing their interests, classes and hobbies. Buddies would be paired to share interests and ideas with students having different experiences and backgrounds.
In addition to providing friendship and support, a buddy system would improve the learning experience and help kids make new friends. This can provide the peer support necessary to make it through these challenging times in a way that may not have been possible in the normal classroom setting.
Ashia R. Kelly, a senior at Holy Trinity Diocesan High School. Credit: Janae Fouché
ASHIA R. KELLY, senior, Holy Trinity Diocesan High School, Hicksville
Never in my 12 years of school could I have imagined my senior year turning out like this. It's been a rough transition, but my school has done an amazing job through it all. Here we have cohorts, which means every grade is split in half. Each grade has a fixed location they go to for half the day to log in to online classes, while the other half goes to their live classes.
Not only was this a smart way to keep contact tracing under control, but I enjoyed being in my fixed location for half the day. It gives me time to relax while in my classes and spend time with my friends.
As seniors, we have lost a lot of our privileges, but the school is trying its best to form new traditions to make the best of our senior year. They've just recently formed a student government so students have an opportunity to voice their opinions on the school and ways we can make it better. In other words, I would not change a thing.
Trisha Bhanot, a sophomore at Half Hollow Hills High School East in Dix Hills. Credit: Vivaan Bhanot
TRISHA BHANOT, sophomore, Half Hollow Hills High School East, Dix Hills
This year has forced us all to adapt to the pandemic, but school has brought some semblance of normalcy back in our lives. Our district has done a phenomenal job with mandating masks and social distancing, but I think there are always ways to improve the situation.
For instance, remote students sometimes find it hard to ask questions. They don't want to interrupt the class and don't get a chance to clarify the lesson. Teachers should allocate a dedicated time slot for questions from remote students during each period.
A remote and on-site buddy system would also help so that those in school can help support the remote students.
Many teachers have different means of sharing information and communicating with us (Canvas, Google Classroom, Zoom, etc.). It would be better if all teachers could use a consistent mode of communication and teaching online to eliminate confusion among students.
Our tests have to be administered on two different days because students have to be in school for the test. This results in a wasted free period the day we don't take the test. Administering all tests online on the same day might be a solution.
Rithika Narayan, a senior at Elwood-John H. Glenn High School. Credit: Shilpa Narayan
RITHIKA NARAYAN, senior at Elwood-John H. Glenn High School
I would like to begin by commending my school district, Elwood, for maintaining stringent safety protocols, and my teachers for adapting to a completely new learning environment.
As a fully virtual student, my personal concern about this school year is the divide between in-person and remote students. Virtual engagement is difficult, between navigating technology issues, Google Meets etiquette, and more. I believe that teachers can alleviate this division by setting aside a window of time, say five minutes, in every period to exclusively address questions or ask commentary from virtual students and by mixing breakout rooms between in-person and virtual students to be able to ensure that discussions, and not lengthy silences, are occurring.
Though I learn from home, school safety is important to the whole community. While time in the classrooms is spent masked and socially distanced, lunchtime concentrates dozens of unmasked students within a small cafeteria. I would like to see plexiglass or plastic barriers implemented in the cafeteria and an additional lunch space created, such as in the auditorium, to facilitate greater distancing while masks are off.
KIERSTEN GORMAN, seventh-grader, East Northport Middle School
I feel my school has done a very good job with the current hybrid learning model, but if I could change anything for the second half of the school year is to work hard in bringing us all back into the classroom. I know some parents and students are nervous, but students like me want to go to school and be in the classroom. Being in the classroom with the teacher and my friends makes learning so much easier. I miss my friends who do not go to school with me on the same days. When you are home doing remote learning, sometimes if you have a question or are not sure of an answer, it is embarrassing asking the teacher a question on a Google Meet. When you are in school, you can pull the teacher aside to ask in person so not everyone is listening.
I would also change allowing us to use school lockers. My backpack weighs over 25 pounds, and I have to carry it all day to each class. The weather is starting to get cold so we have no place to store our heavy coats. Each student gets their own locker, so I hope in the second half of the year we can bring back our lockers. This would really help with my back problems.
I understand that not everyone is ready to be back in the classroom, it is where I learn the most and enjoy being.
JAKE D'ESPOSITO, senior, Bellport High School
For this school year I have chosen to learn on a fully remote plan. For my school that means that I attend classes through Google Meet and receive assignments through Google Classroom.
My experience so far has been great, when it works. Either there is a teacher who has not been trained well enough on the new platforms or the platform we are using breaks or crashes. It would have been nice to see more preparation taken by the school so that right from the start my peers and I could get an education comparable to when we are in-person. But besides a couple of kinks, I have found learning online to be functional and in some cases better than learning in person.
About learning in person, I can't say much. I have friends who have experience with it and teachers who like to show the classroom to the online student. In my opinion the in-person protections are not enough. The dividers used don't cover students from the sides, and there is not enough enforcement for everyone wearing a mask.
What I would like to see differently going into the second half of the year is more training for teachers to get used to the new system and better protection for those going into school.
CONNOR HUGHES, senior, Ward Melville High School, East Setauket
Before I discuss what I would change about my school's COVID-19 learning models, I want to give credit to Three Village administrators, who have done the best job they can at balancing the safety of the students with the desire for a normal school year. Students have the option of going to school five days a week, or remaining remote five days a week. This system has allowed students like myself to enjoy as close to a normal school year as possible without jeopardizing the health of others.
However, this system is not perfect. There are not many safeguards to prevent cheating at home, and while many students respect the integrity of exams, some do not. GoGuardian is one such way of trying to prevent cheating; it isn't perfect, however, and needs to be monitored by the teacher during tests. Three Village's COVID-19 learning models are the best they can possibly get, but I believe that adding safeguards to prevent cheating and allowing those who have a true medical reason to go remote would allow the school to continue operating as close to normal as possible.
ARIANA GLASER, freshman, Smithtown High School East
In the fall, students in my district were given the option to attend school in hybrid mode (attending asynchronously on remote days) or fully remote. A few weeks into the first semester, teachers began teaching remote students live.
While synchronous learning is infinitely more engaging, I've found it to be difficult to concentrate on work when simply staring blankly at a screen for six hours. Attending in-person five days per week is, of course, the best option although it's not necessarily practical now.
In December, we were given access to our lockers for the first time, but we're only allowed to visit them before and after school to store coats, umbrellas and the like. We still have to carry our heavy backpacks around the entire day, which is physically draining. Staggered locker visits could help alleviate spinal stress while simultaneously limiting the danger of gathering around lockers.
Teachers should be cognizant that students are being overloaded with work despite only being physically in school half the time. Exams should not be given to the same degree they were in normal times. We are under enough stress with the pandemic; the added stress of finals/midterms is unfair. Grading should instead be based upon effort, take home exams and projects. These are two ways I think could be made better in these difficult times.
DEVIN BERESKY, sophomore, Mount Sinai High School
In a perfect world, we would all be back to school for the second half of the year. But as that does not seem to be in our near future, remote and hybrid cohorts will continue.
What I would like to see, to improve the effectiveness of remote learning, would be to change the format to much like the current day Google/Zoom meetings, in which all participants can interact with one another. More interaction between classmates and teachers would help make remote learning as much as possible like being in the classroom. That would be a step forward to what we are currently used to. As time goes on, I hope these improvements can be made to the way classes are conducted. Seeing one another regularly and being able to interact, even for a short time, with each other and teachers, would be a vast improvement.
In addition, I would like to have one day in the classroom with both cohorts in session at once. Of course, because of the distancing guidelines, this would only be possible if the class were to be held in the auditorium or the cafeteria. I'm in band, and we are conducting class in the auditorium to allow for safe distancing. I would love to see this format incorporated in at least one of my other classes, at least until school goes back to normal.
— MICHAEL R. EBERT
Michael R. Ebert is an education researcher and has worked for Newsday in various capacities since 2003. He was part of an 11-person team named as 2008 Pulitzer Prize finalists for investigative coverage of the LIRR's platform safety issues.
