School through a computer screen

This+is+Taft+Highs+Distance+Learning+Flyer+that+teachers+and+students+could+follow+during+online+school.

Photo Courtesy of Mary Alice FInn

This is Taft High’s Distance Learning Flyer that teachers and students could follow during online school.

Due to the orders of the Kern County Superintendent of Schools and with the spreading of COVID-19, Taft High and other schools in Kern County closed down. Schools were said to open April 14th, 2020 but have recently been pushed back to May 5th, 2020. Taft High started their Distance Learning this week on Monday, March 23rd, 2020 with some classes starting last week. Teachers have been working around the clock to help students with their assignments and questions. Each teacher is using different techniques for assignments, lectures, and more. Different platforms are being used like Google Classroom for turning in assignments, Zoom for classroom lectures, and Kami to write out answers to their assignments.

Since online school has started, there have been a lot of mixed feelings about the digital platform or about school being online. I asked a few students on their thoughts about online school. One student, Angela Andrade, said that it’s, “very complicated in a sense.” A senior, Carmen Sebastian, said, “I actually like it because I can wake up at any time I want. I have more time to sleep. Sometimes I detest it because there’s no one to tell me to focus or to put my phone away so I barely get the work done, but I don’t pay attention to detail as I would in class.”

I asked more students about what their favorite and least favorite thing has been about online school. A senior, Miriam Guzman, said her favorite thing about online school is, “that everything can be at your own pace and you can start off with working on any class you want.” Guzman expressed that she didn’t like “having to sit in front of a computer for 24/7.” Another student, Acsiris Silva Almanza, said her least favorite thing about online school is, “not seeing my friends, teachers, and just being in a classroom setting.”