As of March 18, 2020, Taft High went on a distance learning schedule without the realization it would be the last time we set foot on campus for the rest of the 2019-2020 school year. It has been almost two months since school closed and began virtual classes. Classrooms have been converted to Zoom video chats and classwork is submitted via Google Classroom. As we edge toward the end of the school year with a few weeks left, we decided to check-in and see how some students are dealing with their virtual classrooms.

I asked a few seniors a series of questions regarding their own experiences with online classes and received positive and negative responses. I asked some seniors, “How are your virtual classes going?” Miriam Guzman responded with, “So far my classes are going quite easy. The year is about to end and not a lot of assignments are being thrown at me anymore.” Another student said, “I’m failing a class I’d never thought I’d be failing. Teachers are giving way too much homework that they usually do.” Acsiris Silva Almanza simply said, “It’s alright. I’d rather be in class than doing this.”

I asked these seniors, “What do you miss about school on campus?” Carmen Sebastian said, “I miss the interaction with everyone and being able to talk right away whenever I had a question.” A senior, Angela Andrade, replied with, “I miss my friends and teachers. I was excited for senior year but it ended very quickly.” Guzman said, “What I miss about being on campus the most is seeing my teachers. Honestly, they are my biggest motivators and the ones that lead us every step of the way towards graduation. They push us to do better but it’s just not the same when our classes are online.”