The Catalyst / Photo courtesy of Jack Bevilacqua
Jack Bevilacqua, senior at Serra High School
Jack Bevilacqua, senior at Serra High School
Since many schools have closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, many high school students are going to school online in what is called distance learning. Some of them communicate with their teachers via email or websites, like gClassroom and Schoology. Others participate in online classrooms via video conferencing apps, like Google Hangouts and Zoom. The Catalyst interviewed Jack Bevilacqua, a senior at Serra High School in San Mateo, about his experiences going to school online.
The Catalyst (TC): What is a typical day of school like for you?
Jack Bevilacqua (JB): For Serra, we meet with each class once a week. One class is from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. and then another class from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., so it varies from classes from third and fourth periods and second and first periods. We’ve been doing that a lot, and it’s been Google Classroom-orientated, so we turn in all the assignments on there and check for updates. It’s been nice being able to actually talk to my teachers and ask questions.
TC: How are you coping with social distancing and keeping in touch with your friends?
JB: It’s been hard not being able to talk with friends, teachers, and significant others or miscellaneous people. It’s also nice though because we have technologies such as phones, computers and video game consoles that we can still connect on and play with our friends. It’s been nice being able to take a step back and appreciate what we have more since you can’t see some people every day.
TC: How do you feel about online school? What do you like or dislike about it?
JB: It’s been sort of nice in a way because I can set my own schedule and it’s less on you. At the same time, it is annoying and stressful because the teachers still assign work as we would be at school. So, it’s hard when you can’t communicate with them or be in class to actually do partner activities or just ask them whenever you want to.