The Catalyst / Photo courtesy of Maya Drusinsky
Maya Drusinsky, senior at Monte Vista High School
Maya Drusinsky, senior at Monte Vista 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 Maya Drusinsky, a senior at Monte Vista High School, about her experiences going to school online.
The Catalyst (TC): What is a typical day of school like for you?
Maya Drusinsky (MD): I wake up pretty late, eat breakfast and go on a run or workout, and my first and only class of the day is 1-2:30 p.m. I have classes Monday through Thursday, just one class a day – so, four classes per week – because I only have six periods and two of them are TA. We use Zoom for each class, and half of the time the teachers just go over the homework, let us discuss, and then we leave after like 30 minutes. The other half of the time, they share their screen with us and actually go through lectures. For the rest of the day, after class, I usually just watch TV, do a little bit of homework, and paint.
TC: How are you coping with social distancing and keeping in touch with your friends?
MD: At the beginning, it was rough because I missed all my friends, and I couldn’t figure out productive ways to spend my time. Now, I have a routine going where I get outside time and exercise every day and I have homework to keep me occupied. Usually, I keep in contact with my friends through Snapchat and occasional FaceTime’s, and I FaceTime my boyfriend every night. But, we used to be long distance anyway ,so this is like the usual for us, I guess. These past couple weeks were just made more stressful by the fact that college decisions are coming out though. So, on top of transitioning to online school and getting used to this new way of life, I’ve been researching colleges and trying to pick which one is best for me, and that’s been pretty stressful.
TC: Do you prefer online learning or on-campus learning?
MD: I prefer in-person learning because I feel like it’s easier to ask for help from a teacher or from peers when something is difficult to understand. I also have a lot more motivation to learn when I’m in an actual school setting… When I’m busy – like how it used to be before the shelter in place – I find it easier to get my work done, compared to when I do online school. [Now,] I have much more free time and that leads to me procrastinating and losing focus and motivation a lot more.