This past year has been filled with nothing but chaos, sadness and many questions. People were not expecting such a quick change in their life because of COVID-19. It took away jobs, going out, and basically all social interactions. One thing that wasn’t expected to change was school; but alas, it did.

     This school year, children and teens alike are expected to go to school online through programs like Zoom, Canvas, and Google Meets. They are expected to complete courses and meet with their teachers and classmates on a daily basis. This change was heavy and hard to handle for students and teachers alike. Wifi, waking up to stare at a screen all day, and communication are the biggest challenges.

     Elijah Munoz, a senior  at Ridgeview High School, says that despite the changes, he enjoys online learning. He gave a tip on what has helped him; that he thinks would be beneficial to everyone. “My tip to everyone is setting two alarms from 6:40 to 7:00 am to make yourself wake up as the secondary alarm setting,”says Munoz.  He says although Canvas isn’t hard to use, there are some tiny little things that make it a little difficult, and others that make it bearable. “Canvas is sometimes a bugged program with grades, but it’s wonderful to have the ability to check the scores of assignments and tests.” Munoz feels like zoom is an amazing platform as well, but like canvas, there are some problems. “Zoom is an amazing platform for learning, yet one thing that lacks is engagement from other students.” He feels that it, “Makes learning a little less interesting” and that “Simply having more engagement will make online learning much better.” Many students feel this way, as well as even some staff.

     Head Counselor  Salvador Garcia, says that although Canvas may be hard to do now, it’ll become easier later on. He says, “I think that everything is difficult when we don’t know how to do it. Everything we know we have to learn at some point and the more we practice, the better we become at it. Something that seems difficult at first becomes easier as we learn and practice. I think learning the canvas platform is beneficial for our students because the colleges use it as well. Although challenging now, students will be familiar with canvas by the time they attend college.” 

      Although he did not go to online school and students now have to since there is no choice, he still has some tips for what he thinks would be helpful for others.  Garcia states that, “The greatest tip is to communicate with your teachers. Teachers understand and are sensitive to unique situations when students communicate the reasons why they are not performing well in class. A second tip is to always give your best effort, believe me, teachers know when students give their best effort in class. In case your best effort comes short, there is tutoring available to reinforce the work you need to complete.” He says that online learning is an experience for all of us and that it takes time to learn new things.

     Waking up early is hard for almost everyone. Garcia tells us that a great tip for waking up early is to “Not go to bed late.” Other tips he said were, “Additional tips are to have an early dinner, doing homework during early afternoons, setting an alarm clock and charging your cell phone in the living room at night (not in your room).” Munoz agrees, as he also states, “I enjoy putting two alarms to make sure I wake up on time. This should give you enough time to get ready and brush your teeth; as well as get your hair done.”

     What Garcia and Munoz also agree on are that positive attitudes are crucial. “The greatest tip for everyone is to have a positive attitude. I believe that staying positive and doing our best go hand-in-hand. I do not believe having a bad attitude helps.” says Garcia. And, “Another tip is trying to keep yourself with a healthy mindset and being positive with your drive for school.” says Munoz. Although this school year has been tough, “Let’s do our best to stay positive.” says Garcia.