The coronavirus has been global for well over a year now, and with that comes many continued concerns. The most prominent one is safety, not only for students but for all faculty and staff. When the virus first came about in early March, students were sent home for a few months. What started as a two-week hiatus turned into a debate of several months over how to best deal with the issue. Because of the unprecedented circumstances in the earlier stages of the pandemic, students nationwide sometimes had limited structured learning in the spring. It meant a loss of precious time that students had to learn and socialize.

Further down the road, in the late summer of 2020, a virtual method was introduced. With school technology, students were able to connect with their teachers and receive the education that they previously lacked. But this virtual contact missed the mark in certain respects, including the time constraints and preparation of lessons. Virtually, teaching has to proceed at a slower pace. Many teachers have had to adapt to the technology issue. Software and paper lessons that had worked well for in-person schooling no longer worked. It left teachers scrambling to adjust their lessons, and often that meant settling for any sort of lesson plan that they could get their hands on. Fast forward a few months, and for many students, this virtual schooling has not ended. With only weeks left until summer, questions of what to do about the learning loss during remote classes have emerged.

In Illinois, Governor J.B. Pritzker has suggested a form of summer school to make up for lost time. This seems like a good concept, but at the same time, many students don’t want to give up their summer vacation. Summer, according to this view, is a time to focus on anything other than school, so to add school back into the mix doesn’t appeal to many students. Imagine dealing with the whole school year on your iPad, and on top of that having to do more of it when you could be enjoying the warm months. It is still up in the air if Pritzker will follow through with his summer learning idea. Only time will tell.