Isle File students express decisions to stay home

Photo+by+Katerina+Holmes+from+Pexels

Photo by Katerina Holmes from Pexels

Angelynn Pineda:

I remember back in 2020, sophomore year, when one of my teachers told us that the quarantine would likely last a couple months. Nearly a year later, I can confirm that that was wrong. 

Although quite a lot of people have given up on the whole staying home and social distancing bit, I would rather do what I do best and remain in my house, avoiding people at all cost. This may seem like a very lonely, boring thing to do, but my reasoning is flawless: I don’t want to die. But with my junior year coming to a close, I hear that the school board is considering opening up the schools again and making it mandatory to attend. I would not choose this and, in fact, strongly advise against it and opt to just stick to distance learning. My decision to remain in distance learning is because I don’t want to risk catching the virus from social interaction.

California has one of the highest number of cases in the nation. Admittedly, that is most likely due to California having a large population, but based on the few times I have left the house, it also may be because a lot of people are terrible at social distancing and wearing their masks properly. Another reason is that I feel less socially stressed when working from home. I have difficulty functioning properly in front of people, and I don’t want the added stress of blending in with my peers to pile onto the stress of school, the pandemic, and impending adulthood. 

But just because I dislike going outside for school, doesn’t mean that I don’t know the pros of doing so. Going back to school for live instruction can help me focus and get more work done, but as I’ve mentioned multiple times, there is a health risk in doing so. In contrast, distance learning removes the health risk, but it is harder to be more productive in school and my focus is often lost to other activities that I prefer doing, like sleep, drawing, and watching dumb videos online.

Nevertheless, whatever choice the school decides on, I hope that they make one that is best for the students.

 

Kassandra Ortiz:

My decision to remain in distance learning for the rest of the year is because it is hard for me to wear a mask for too long because I have asthma, and I will most likely pass out. When I go hours wearing a mask I get light headed and shaky. I also can’t pull down my mask so I have to deal with it.

For distance learning, a con is that it is kind of hard to focus and learn because of distractions, like your phone or family members being loud. That is one thing I dislike about distance learning. 

If you go in person, a con is that you must be wearing a mask and you have to be in a COVID pod, which is awkward. A pro is that you learn more and are able to focus more because you cannot use your phone and your family members are not there, giving you a higher chance of passing with A’s. 

Still, distance learning is easier with only three classes, despite that sometimes it can be hard to keep up with all the work those classes give daily and it would’ve been way harder with six classes. 

 

Michelle Aguilar:

I would rather remain in distance learning. Well, if you think about it, going to school right now is a very high risk for us kids and the same goes for the adults. It’ll be a lot for us to have masks on the entire day too. 

First, we still have COVID spreading around, and even though we have a vaccine to help us you can never be too sure. A lot of parents, including mine, don’t want me going to school just to be safe and not put my family in danger. My family has had it once so we don’t want to take the chance of getting it again. 

Second, my sleeping schedule isn’t the best right now. I feel like I just won’t be able to wake up, eat, and get ready to go to school. I’ve gotten used to doing online and I’ve been doing good so I really just don’t want to go back to school to start doing bad. Even if I were to wake up in the morning, I wouldn’t be in the brightest mood or have any energy. 

Lastly, I have to help my mom with my little brothers’ classes, so I can’t really go. I also wouldn’t feel comfortable leaving my brothers alone doing their classes. This online thing hasn’t been easy for both of my brothers so I want to be there to help them. This is why I can’t  go to school right now. It’s just a risk I don’t want to take.

 

Noe Landin:

My decision is to stay home and continue doing distance learning. I prefer distance learning because going to school doesn’t seem like fun. The COVID regulations ruin it. Being separated and not being able to communicate with your friends ruins the purpose of school. Why would someone go to school if they’re not even allowed to talk to friends or eat lunch with them? I see it as a big waste of time. 

It’s the same as online school except you are forced to sit where they seat you and are denied permission to communicate with people. Waking up early and getting dressed is not worth it if school will be the way it is right now. Besides that, I really don’t want to risk getting coronavirus because I have family members with babies and I have elders in my family. 

I prefer distance learning because I can just wake up and go to class. Being home means I do not have to worry about weather, my outfit, or hunger. My classes online have been good. I’ve passed all my classes and have learned from each class. I feel like I’m doing better online than I ever would have in actual school. My family also prefers if I stay home. 

At school, somebody may have COVID and just not know it yet. That’s a risk I’d rather not take for the safety of myself and my family.