Back to School (at Home)

We got the questions, you got the answers; four students weigh in on the first week of distance learning

Set up in her home office, senior Celine Yutzie waits to join her first period Google Meet, Government with Weber.

Celine Yutzie by Aubrey Jordan
Q: What was your first week of school like, was it what you expected?
A: My first day wasn’t as exciting as past years. It was pretty awkward, actually, because no one would really talk except the teacher, and it was just weird to see everyone through a screen and not in person. I don’t think it was really what I had expected it to be. It’s very different from in-person that’s for sure, and I think it will just take time to get used to this new normal.

Q: How are you liking Canvas, and how does it compare to other learning outlets?
A:
Right now for me Canvas is kind of confusing to use. It’s very different from Google Classroom, and everything is under different names now. There are so many new things to learn how to use on it, but I think it’s cool you can see your grades more easily though.

Q: As a senior, do you feel like you are getting the most out of your last year of high school with distance learning?
A:
As a senior I don’t feel like I’m getting the most out of my last year just because I can’t be in an actual classroom with my friends, and there is a lot of uncertainty for how this year will play out. With distance learning there is only so much you can do. So I wish it didn’t have to be this way, but it is what it is.

Macy Witt by Ella James
Q: Is there anything that has been difficult for you, being a freshman and a new student in the TTSD district, starting online?
A:
I think the only difficult thing about being a new student at Tigard in the middle of a pandemic where we have to go to school remotely, has been the social aspect. Especially since I did not come through the public school system, I didn’t know many people, and without lunch and passing periods, you lose the one-on-one interactions you have with other students which makes it harder to establish friendships and other relationships.

Q: Before Starting online school, did you think you would like it, and has your opinion on online school changed since starting? If so, how?
A:
“I definitely had lower expectations since I was moving from private school (which had more resources) to a public school, and I had not heard great things from students at Tigard in the [spring]. I expected the online schooling to be a little more chaotic and less enforced, but I actually am very impressed with the amount of work it seems that the teachers have put in, and the functionality of the classes.”

Q: What is something you were sad to miss out on your first year of high school, because we had to go online due to Covid-19?
A:
“I was sad to miss making new friends and meeting new people as I previously mentioned, but I also play basketball and softball, which at the moment aren’t looking very hopeful. Although this might suck, it will give me time to improve and make myself stronger, which I think will make the people with drive and motivation to get better, stand out.”

Izzy Pope by Emma Heim
Q: What was one of the challenges you faced with distance learning?
A:
One of the challenges I faced with distance learning would be getting to know both my classmates and my teachers well. In this new digital setting, it is harder to meet new people and form bonds with them than it is in person.

Q: What classes are you taking during distance learning, and how do you feel like they are compared to if you were to take them in person at school?
A:
I am taking AGS2, French 1, Chemistry, and US History. I feel like the teachers have done well with adapting to the new format; however, I think in-person would be more enjoyable and easier to understand.

Q: What is one thing that you like about distance learning that in-person learning doesn’t offer?
A:
One thing I enjoy about distance learning is our breaks in between classes. It gives a good amount of time to refresh before your next class.

Q: If you had to choose two classes you have during the first quarter to take in person. Which classes would that be and why?
A:
If I could take two classes I have in quarter 1 in person I would take US History and Chemistry. I really like both the teachers and subjects of these classes. I feel in an in-person setting I could learn more and have more fun with the classes.

Sarah Boehringer by Maddie Boehringer
Q: How has online school impacted you going into your freshman year?
A:
It’s been a bit more laid back. It’s also been harder to meet new people because when you’re in in-person school you are forced to be with and meet new people. In online school you are not forced to be with them so you have to do stuff on your own to make friends, which is a lot harder to do.

Q: How has starting as a new kid online been hard?
A:
It’s hard because no one knows me like my friends did at my old school. All of my friends from my old school go to different schools and I don’t have any close friends coming into Tigard.

Q: How has online made the transition from private school to public school more difficult?
A:
I’m so used to doing all my school work on an iPad and not really on a Chromebook, so I’m having kind of a hard time transitioning.