The hybrid school system: something we've been patiently waiting for since the announcement of our return to school. It's been more than a month since many of us have been attending our classes on the school campus. So how has it been?
We cannot deny that the hybrid school system isn’t perfect, but we can all agree it has many advantages we wouldn't have if we were at home. Three main advantages that we must consider include being able to communicate with our teachers and classmates better, being able to learn both visually and physically, and having less distractions, which helps us get more work done. Being able to communicate has never been missed more than these past two years attending school virtually. Effectively, being able to ask questions, share ideas or overall communicate in person with our teachers and classmates helps us understand subjects better. Learning through both visual and physical methods gives us a variety of ways to learn and experience lessons. Not to mention that being at school helps us focus more on what our teachers are teaching us without getting distracted by our phones, games, etc.
However, even with the benefits that this new modality brings for our community, it does seem to bring some disadvantages. Three cons I think we can all agree on are: we get less time to eat lunch, we feel tired when we come back home and being at school can stress us out. For one, with this new modality we get an hour to leave school and come back home for our lunch break. This proves to be a problem for those not living as close to school as they don’t get enough time to sit comfortably and eat at their own pace. In addition, many of us in the AST community also feel like the school day is over after we leave the physical campus. This confusion leaves us tired and unmotivated for our last two classes. Lastly, taking summative assessments like quizzes, public speaking and other forms of expression that come along with being at school in person, can also make us feel stressed and anxious.
In conclusion, it is safe to assume that not every disadvantage regarding this new modality will be solved as quickly as we would like, but that doesn’t mean those cons should stop us from enjoying the AST learning experience. On the contrary, it means that we need to find ways to solve our problems! Whether it's setting up a schedule to help you be more organized, opening your windows to let fresh air in after coming home to feel more energized, leaving a snack in the car while you ride back home during lunch break, practicing presenting around friends/family to feel less nervous at school, making sure to drink water to fuel you, or attending a small study group Zoom meetings. You can always ask teachers, family or a friend for support! Someone will surely have tips to help you out. Don’t be afraid to try new and different things, and let experimenting be your new friend. You got this!