This 2020-2021 school year, Solon High School (SHS) started off all virtual for the first quarter and later gave the option for the hybrid model for students. While this was the main option available to the high school’s students, a smaller number of students opted for a different option: going in-person all four days. 

Students opting for the four days in-person have chosen this particular option because it is what will help them succeed in school– at home, they are unmotivated, have trouble focusing and just have a harder time overall.

Students who are going in-person are in classes with a significantly smaller amount of people, and while this is a new change, it is something that is helpful to many. With less kids in each classroom, social distancing is possible throughout the day, and four-day goers are able to communicate with their teachers when they need assistance more easily. They can be seen raising their hand, or can simply call the teacher over, which is something they were unable to do from a screen at home. 

This new factor of school being online is something that has been an obstacle for a couple students, now that doing both schoolwork and homework is solely affected by the student’s own motivation and focus. SHS freshman Ella Giallanza speaks on how she gets her work done more efficiently, now that she is physically going to school for her classes.

“When I’m at home I do all my schoolwork at the last minute, but when I’m in school I finish all of my work in time,” Giallanza said. 

Going to school gives students a deadline for assignments, and during class they are able to work more efficiently with a teacher watching them work. Finishing assignments at home comes with each student’s responsibility to complete it on time without anyone reminding them, and many of the younger high school students are still adjusting to the high school workload. 

Along with the high school workload, students who have questions must manually unmute themselves during Zoom calls where everyone in the class is listening in on them. SHS freshman George Szabo also says this scenario is much more different in the physical school setting.

“Online, it’s very hard to get a hold of [teachers] and ask questions,” Szabo said. “But in school, it is a lot easier to do so.” 

Not only is it easier for some students to be able to ask the questions they have during in-person classes, but another benefit for them would be having an environment where there are less distractions and are able to focus more effectively. 

“While I am in person, it’s a lot more helpful because [teachers] give me cues to stay focused, they talk to me directly and keep me on track there,” SHS senior Max Brush said. “Since I am more of a visual learner, it helps that [teachers] are there in person with me.”

School has become a different process from the previous years experienced, and there are many different paths in the ways each student is finding that suits their journey to success. For some students, going in-person is how they learn the most. Whether it be from learning in person with the protocols of COVID-19 to staying home and taking online classes, students are all adjusting to a new norm of high school.