Opinion, Pomp Around

The Virtual Vs In-Person Debate…Which Is Better?

By Jack Funk//

Change is something we are all familiar with. After all, we undergo changes in our life every single day. It’s obvious that some changes are bigger, or more impactful than others. Changing the tires on your car is something most adults do diligently. Changing your socks in the morning is another daily occurrence we don’t think twice about doing. It happens naturally. It is instead the larger changes which shift the boundaries of our lives, forcing us—in times like these—to adapt to a new style of living. No event has brought more such change than last year’s outbreak of COVID-19. While many of us may be sick of hearing about the virus (and hopefully aren’t literally sick), it is important to make note of the adaptations that students have had to undergo during this school year. Since September, Pomperaug High School has been utilizing the hybrid model of holding classes, in which students are in the physical classroom with their teacher and other classmates for two days, and then in their own home, on a virtual-meet for the next two days, or vice versa. Both methods offer their own individual benefits, and downsides, which will be further discussed later. Regardless, there has perhaps never been a greater impact on a student’s learning process. Through all of the chaos, one main question is raised; which style of learning is better?

Learning at Home

What is often so normally considered our private space has now suddenly become our classroom. A student’s bedroom is a ‘sanctuary’ in the eyes of many, where they can sleep, be themselves, and escape the stress of school. Yet now, it is the area from which we access our many classrooms’ Google Meets. Understandably, this environment brings much more relaxation and comfortability than the average school desk. Many students report that they feel generally more comfortable learning from home. Antonio Martinez, a Pomperaug junior, reports that he enjoys not having to worry about dressing up in the morning, which feeds into another topic of interest with the at-home model of learning: mask-wearing (or lack thereof). At school, for the safety of our peers and staff, masks are worn at all times. At homes, this is not the case. “I prefer learning from home because I don’t have to wear a mask,” Sophomore Aidan Biello says, representing the large pool of students who opt to study at home because of the freedom from masks. 

Additionally, since classes start at 7:20, students who study at home are given the opportunity to sleep in, often up until the minute before they join class. This acts as one of the many factors which turn a potentially difficult class into something more approachable. Sam Salemi, a sophomore, explained that she enjoys going virtual at times to escape this overwhelming feel of tough classes. Not only this, but being at home allows for students to take freetime to be outside and do what they like, such as play video games and “play basketball” as a student reports. Our brains are wired to perform better when we are in an environment which is familiar to us. It is fear of the unknown which ultimately makes us less comfortable in school than in our bedrooms, and this is what can lead a student to perform differently in separate environments.

This change has certainly brought a lot of new thinking to a student’s mind, as it forces them to consider for the first time ever whether they prefer to learn in a classroom or in their rooms. They are forced to realize that exposure can clearly mean a lot to their ability to learn. But what other factors can play into a student’s ability to learn, and in what other ways is online learning affecting it? More specifically, what significant differences does ‘in-person’ learning bring to the table?

Learning at School

The hallways of Pomperaug High School bring fear to many—the typical love-hate kind of fear that you would expect in high school. As aforementioned, it is fear of the unknown which guides us away from comfort. Afterall, change can be a very scary thing for a student, especially one of this magnitude. Yet, through all this, many students enjoy the challenge of being less familiar with the environment they are in, whether that be home or school. At school, we are face to face with our teachers, the individuals who are primarily responsible for our learning process throughout our course studies. This is particularly beneficial because being able to physically see and hear someone in front of you often extends one’s attention span, allowing for more information to be retained. A poll taker, who wishes to be anonymous, reports that she definitely learns better in school, and is more compelled to understand the deep meaning of whatever she is studying when she can connect more personally with other students and the instructor. Another anonymous poll taker says hearing and seeing people in real life alleviates some boredom that comes with listening to lessons. On a side note, students often report that when they are in person, time seems to move by faster, which psychologically drives them to enrich their learning, and ultimately focus better. We already know how much privacy means to a student, and being able to speak privately with a teacher in person about work means isolating themselves from the class, where they can be saved from the embarrassment about asking a silly question. Thus, a student can gain even more from a lesson in person. 

Which is better?

The answer to this question unfortunately, is not so simple. The answer really comes down to a student’s preference. In a recent survey, 190 people submitted results; of those, 42 preferred virtual learning (around 22 percent of survey takers), while the other 148 (about 78 percent) answered that they thought in-person learning was their preferred style of learning. When addressing a change that involves learning, the first factor that should be accounted for is focus. Some happen to enjoy being around others, some do not; it is the type of person that makes this decision. Another factor that should be considered is socialization. At home, the student can only make contact with students through conversation on the other side of a screen, which is more often than not, limited. However, with the cohort system that the school set up, alongside the fact that many students in a specific cohort do not show up anyway, it is safe to say that there isn’t a lot of socializing even in school, as there are no free periods outside of study halls, and hallway routes are one-directional, making it hard for friends to be able to meet up with each other and hold conversations in the hallways. On top of this, a student is more protected at home from the coronavirus, as they would not be anywhere near anyone.

To recap, both methods of learning hold their own benefits as they do detriments, each building strengths off of the other’s weaknesses. At home, you cannot socialize. But in school, is there that much socialization? At school you get to communicate physically with other students and teachers. But do some feel uncomfortable around others with the coronavirus? At home can be boring, but will students be more tired at school without the extra hour of sleep you get at home? The list goes on. Neither can seem to hold one point over another, and as mentioned, it always appears to come down to the student’s preference. 

The changes are not over yet! As of March 31, Region 15 has made a decision that all Pomperaug students will be full-time in-person learners with the exception of some students who choose to be at home learners, thus eliminating the cohort system. There is a possibility to have almost 1000 people in the building starting Wednesday morning, a definite excitement for most, specifically teachers, who have not been touched on throughout this report. A French teacher admits to hating the zoom meetings with a passion as they are hard to set up and run. Students can lose internet connection and be kicked from the meet, and distractions are present on the other side of a student’s screen. Talking to icons in all classes is boring and makes a teacher feel as if they are not doing their jobs, which can harm their self-confidence, and can make the meets even less interactive than they already are. Teachers especially will be ecstatic to have the majority of their class in front of them physically, and lessons are projected to run much more smoothly, which is what makes them more enjoyable and informative. 

Change happens all the time! It is natural. Things can change for the bad, but also for the good. It is what the person makes of it that will ultimately make it good or bad. As hard as COVID-19 has been for all of us, it is necessary for all of us to come together (not literally: social distancing!), and see the good behind all changes. Splitting up the class population to create cohorts had its downsides, but it also may have avoided a lot of coronavirus cases at the end of the day. I believe that by the end of this school year after having been through separated classes to now coming together, we will be stronger, and more prepared for the future. 

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