Students of Marshall County High School 10th grade English teacher Tessa Powell, wrote essays on the current COVID-19 pandemic. Powell said the students have been working on how to write effective arguments and chose between two prompts to write their essays. The first choice was to write about their position on the current executive orders about social distancing and limited mobility to stores and even other states. The second option was to write about the effectiveness of online schooling during the pandemic and if they thought school should end early. We are excited to feature several of these essays and will start with the first one today followed by one each of the next few days.
Kenzie, Connelly, 10th grade, Marshall County High School
Education is valuable to all students, no matter how they receive it. During this pandemic we are experiencing, teachers are doing their best to help students online to achieve the education they deserve. This is important because students need the most normal school days as possible to finish the semester during this global pandemic. Education is important, whether it be at school or home, for students to continue their learning during these uncertain times.
Some students might disagree, but essentially, school is crucial for learning. Education helps students build skills needed for the oncoming years of work and life beyond school. These skills include problem solving, communication, decision making, and creative thinking. During a global pandemic, it seems impossible for students that are used to being in a classroom setting to be able to complete their work. The teachers and school have explained what they think is best, which is to continue school on schedule as normal as possible. The school staff continuously assures students we will finish school on time with as few bumps in the road as possible. The path the teachers have chosen to take for the students with online schooling is the most effective way to help students learn the most while outside of a traditional classroom.
Additionally, teachers put their students as the most important part of their jobs, so in turn, students should do the work assigned by their teachers. This pandemic may have halted our in-class semester, but our online classes are just as important. Since school is crucial for learning, students should be held responsible for completing their school work on time during the remainder of our semester online. It is the student’s responsibility to complete his or her work on time and put in his or her best effort. If a student fails to do so, the grades of the student will show the lack of effort put forth for the assignment, just like in a traditional classroom setting. This scenario shows how students are still held to the same expectations while out of the classroom. To learn, a student must attempt to work their best even if they are outside of a normal school.
Some students, on the other hand, may see online school as an unbeneficial way of learning, but they are not taking into consideration that the teachers and administrators are doing what they feel will benefit us the most. Most teachers see their students as their top priority. This being said, the students who believe online school is unbeneficial are not weighing their options out enough. Keeping online school on a normal schedule, with spring break, is most beneficial because students needed a break from school like always. This decision to make online school as normal as possible is great for students who feel overwhelmed by the pandemic because they can experience a sense of normalcy with virtual interaction and continuation with classes in the middle of all of the chaos.
To conclude, education is important no matter how students are learning. It is valuable for students during times like these to learn and keep a sense of normalcy in their schedule, and be held responsible for it as well. Teachers and administrators have worked to figure out a schedule that works best for every student by keeping a normal school year with spring break included. During this global pandemic, students should be appreciative that teachers give us this work to complete at home for our safety.