14
Wednesday, April 21, 2021 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
ONLINE: Students
have moved back to
in-person school
Continued from page 3
Hudson Beckwith said, <I
think one of the more higher
points of online learning was
that you had more time to do
schoolwork on your own at
your own pace.= He also said
that <it was a very unforget-
table experience to learn from
home.=
Beckwith also said that the
low point for him was that,<it
made it much harder, not
being able to talk to teachers.
It is also very sad because a
lot of people have been put
back in their learning due to
school from home.=
He hopes that the teachers
will do a review with what
kids learned through online
school.
<I am going to miss online
school,= said Andrew Islas,
<just because it was so fun
getting to have an experience
like we had, but it is nice
returning to school (four days
a week) just because it feels
like we are back to normal
now.=
Eighth-grade math teacher
Jonathon Kelly, noted that,
<Before COVID-19, my
experience with online-learn-
ing education was limited to
online platforms and learn-
ing tools that were either
designed to be full replace-
ments for traditional instruc-
tion, skills practice only, or
supplementary or tutorial in
nature without a lot of cohe-
sion or structure.
PHOTO BY KALE GARDNER
Hudson Beckwith.
<When we first moved
to comprehensive distance
learning in April 2020, it
was definitely a challenge to
quickly find tools, resources,
and platforms that could
come close to replicating
the in-person experience
with all of its nonverbal cues
and immediate feedback.
However, some students
really excelled with the more
self-paced and mastery or
proficiency-based learning
format during comprehen-
sive distance learning. They
noticed that they were not as
distracted and could follow a
more flexible schedule that
more closely met their needs.
<It was definitely a chal-
lenge to see students struggle
with attendance, with social-
emotional well-being and
connection, and just not feel
as motivated or excited about
<coming= to school. I think
every teacher was really feel-
ing for and worried about our
most vulnerable students and
families who perhaps did not
have the best home environ-
ment for learning, the most
accommodating internet
connection, or perhaps there
were other stresses in their
family and home life with all
of the other ripple effects of a
global pandemic.=
The Nugget asked Kelly
how the past year has affected
him personally.
<Personally, I found it
challenging to teach math
in a way that made sense for
students,= he said. <While
there are plenty of tutorial
videos or guided examples
out there, nothing beats
being in person and having
a teacher look for engage-
ment and understanding in
the moment. Even if students
were interacting with me
through a Zoom class live,
as the teacher it9s hard to
ensure participation, engage-
ment, and active learning
in the same way we can in
the classroom. However, I
have definitely gotten better
at making videos and using
other technology resources to
better meet students9 needs,
and those skills will translate
well into the future, too.=
Asked about the future, he
responded:
<It9s very hard to make
any predictions about what
the future may look like, but
I am optimistic that we will
continue on a path to return to
normalcy as it is safe to do so.
At the middle school, having
students back in the building
two days a week starting the
last week of January and first
week of February made a
huge difference, and I think
that returning to four days
a week of school for all stu-
dents on April 12 will make
another huge positive impact
as well.=
The Nugget spoke with
Oregon Secretary of State
Shemia Fagan, She got per-
sonal, noting, <My son has
had a hard time learning from
home, but we just try to have
grace in our family.=
She said that, <I am work-
ing very hard with Governor
Brown to get kids back in the
classroom.=
Kale Gardner is a student
at Sisters Middle School and
is working as an intern with
The Nugget Newspaper.
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