By Anna Dendas
In unprecedented times like this, it is important to keep our minds active. And after two weeks of filling our suddenly free schedules by taking on new hobbies, reading just a bit more, and spending strangely long periods of time outside, Branford students, as well as teachers, began to miss something major that the Coronavirus took from them – the structure that education brought into their lives.
That all changed when the school district put together Flex Learning, where “through the use of online and other virtual communication, teachers will design, provide, and facilitate educational experiences for students.”
Branford High School ignited this learning process on Friday, March 27, by having all the teachers check-in with their students.
But, it wasn’t until Monday when the distance learning truly began.
Distance learning at Branford High brought many questions and a variety of reactions. However, one thing that many students are curious about is whether we are going to be learning synchronously at some point. What this means is that, instead of teachers just posting assignments, voice-overs of lessons, and due dates, will there be a time where we use a video conference platform like Google Hangouts or Zoom?
For now, the school district has considered the privacy of its students and has not made a clear decision. In a letter to parents Friday, Superintendent Hamlet Hernandez said the district plans to incorporate video conferencing.
In the last few weeks, teachers have been using Google Hangouts to carry out meetings.
The new distance learning has been a challenge for students.
“Sometimes it’s hard to understand exactly what teachers are instructing us to do,” Junior Ashley Duong said.
But, she is not the only one who feels this way. A majority of the student body has said they wish they could talk to their teachers and ask questions through online chats, rather than just sending emails back and forth or trying to understand complicated, and oftentimes long, instructions, posted on Google Classroom.
Students have also found the light in this situation by appreciating the amount of independence they previously didn’t have. Another major difference that Flex learning brings BHS is the schedule. Rather than having 50-minute long periods of all eight classes a day, students now have just three periods a day but much longer class times of 1 hour and 15 minutes. During this time, the majority of teachers post assignments via Google Classroom, mostly now long-term projects rather than quick ones, and students are encouraged to ask their teachers questions.
Many students have voiced that they enjoy having this A-B-C day schedule. Senior Juli Dillon, says “Having more time and independence is helping me learn subjects more in depth that I struggled with before.”
The Flex schedule has been providing students plenty of free time to learn and get work done at their own pace. In addition, students are also very appreciative that their first class does not start until 9 a.m., giving them the opportunity to get a good night of rest.
In the end, what has proved itself to me, and those in the community, is that we can come together and adjust to change.
The teachers and faculty at Branford High School have done an outstanding job by communicating with their students, and not only providing them with an education, but a support system during this strange period of uncertainty. As these are uncharted waters for all of us, and despite the fact that many of us are dealing with things outside of schoolwork, it is quite heartwarming that our educators are still making us a top priority in their lives.
Mrs. Raffone, a math teacher at BHS, has been keeping her students engaged in learning and has been working with them through this all. “People always say that young people are resilient and I think my students are showing that,” Raffone said. “When I first made contact with my classes for the Flexible Learning, many said they were ready to go back to school, they were bored. They’re adapting to the changes pretty well.”
And we must continue to be optimistic through this all. If we stay working diligently as a whole, we can keep and build upon this positive learning space away from the walls of Branford High School. It is important for us to be hopeful, and stay grounded throughout it all. At the end of the day, it is good for us to learn from change and new experiences, rather than remaining fearful and worried.
Mrs Elperina, a physics teacher at the high school, went through many challenges before this one, such as growing up in the former Soviet Union and protecting her own children from the aftermath of Chernobyl, provides us some wise insight:“We have to be very grateful about our ability to have technology to communicate and to be able to work and learn from home. I believe in science, the situation will improve, we just have to be patient.” So with that, I encourage you all to keep your spirits high and remain grateful for the opportunity to continue our education during this pandemic.
