A Remote Possibility

Students around the world have been attempting to adjust to a remote learning environment amidst the coronavirus pandemic that started almost a year ago. Many places have approached the situation in radically different ways. In much of Asia, for example, schools opened right at the start of the year with strict mask policies and hand-washing procedures.

In the United States, however, the process has been much more lengthy. President Trump mentioned back in July that schools that didn’t reopen fully would see their funding cut. This threat proved impractical, though, and most schools did not fully reopen. Instead, many schools have instead started an all-remote or blended learning schedule for the 2020-2021 school year.

This entails doing all schoolwork at home on the internet, attending classes over Zoom or Google Meet. In some schools around the Chicagoland area, the blended learning model involves groups of 10-20 students entering the building at a given time, staying in one area for the whole day, and not interacting with other groups. OFHS, like the rest of District 228, has taken a slightly different approach to the same concept, the students attending one day out of the week, assigned based on their last names, with the exception of Wednesdays, which are all remote. Freshmen students had their first week back starting on October 19, and all students will be able to return to the building for up to one day a week of regular learning starting the week after, October 25. However, some students may not to attend their day of learning if their parents do not feel comfortable sending them.

Regardless of attendance on in-person learning days, this is widely viewed as a step forward against the pandemic. If more people follow the rules and regulations set in place to keep them safe, more restrictions may eventually be lifted.