Reilly Moore, senior at Design Tech High School

The Catalyst (TC): Can you tell me about like an average school day for you right now? 

Reilly Moore (RM): I have two classes and I get on every morning at 8:45 for my advisory, which is like my homeroom. And then at 9:05 I have English, and then at 10:10 I have government. Then after that, I’m done. But we also have this thing called flex time for Tuesdays and Thursdays, which is an opportunity to do office hours. 

TC:  Would you say that you’re actually learning stuff right now, or are you just kind of going through the motions of going to class and doing homework but not really learning anything? 

RM: I think it depends on the teacher really. My English teacher has been doing a really really good job with it, all of his assignments are things like senior portfolios, making resumes and cover letters. And I feel like I have learned from his class but I don’t know about some of my other classes. You sort of just show up, they do attendance, you listen the teacher talk, and then you do your work at home.

TC: What would you say are some of the benefits  of doing school online? 

RM: I’ve had more time to do what I want to do  when I want to do it, because my school’s whole ‘thing’ is self-direction, and I always felt like I wasn’t allowed to be self-directed enough. Now it’s like I can do what I want when I want to, and I can still get it done while working at my own pace. I feel like I have more time to do things, and I’m not as stressed. I have time to make it quality work.

TC: Do you have anything else to say about online school?

RM: It’s weird, but I feel like that’s everyone’s experience. But at the same time I feel like I definitely see a lot of the teachers put effort in, and I really respect that they’ve done that. I don’t think enough people give them credit.