It’s been a full semester of bouncing between fully online school and hybrid learning. While many of the necessary safety precautions have stayed the same, some of the challenges Kadets face have certainly changed.

During this time, Microsoft Teams introduced breakout rooms, Wednesdays became flexible learning time, and we’ve, overall, become much more adapted.

With all this change, what challenges were Kadets able to predict and which ones were totally unexpected?

After seeing hybrid learning first hand, junior Ariel Holdemam commented, “I don’t really think hybrid learning is a bad thing, but [it’s] not really a good thing either… yeah, people need the in-class time and the at-home time, but it’s still risking bringing something to school or bringing something home.”

Holdeman agreed that one of the biggest challenges –small group work–hasn’t changed.

“I think it’s slightly easier for group members to communicate without needing to talk face to face,” Holdeman continued. “[However,] I still think group assignments are difficult to do…”

Sophomore Liv Carr’s biggest challenge was something more unconventional.

Carr stated, “I like in-person, but it’s very different and wearing your mask all day isn’t the best. I also think math and other classes that have projects can be challenging, but I really like the social part of being in-person.”

One of the biggest changes seen was reworking Wednesdays from eight period days to assisted learning or work time days. This gave students the time they needed to deal with the larger workload that many Kadets were criticizing.

Junior Nathan Tada commented, “Yeah, the work is about the same, but Wednesdays are a godsend.”

Tada also explained one of the challenges he didn’t predict, “Doing weights online is really odd and difficult. It definitely caught me off guard.”

“I think the pros and cons of in-person vs online depend on what you prefer. In-person, it’s easier to focus but online it’s much more comfortable,” continued Tada.

The comfort and convenience of online classes may be the biggest reasons in-person classes often have only a few students.

 Holdeman believes that the drop in students in class is due to a variety of things.

“I think [it’s] primarily because of recent COVID spike, worried parents, or just students not wanting to leave their home when they could just do it [there],” Holdeman explained.

With everyone adapting to hybrid, many students have come to appreciate the benefits of (and maybe even prefer) online-learning. While issues persist with a hybrid schedule, ample opportunity is also available for Kadets who learn better in a home environment. Hopefully, soon, the remaining challenges can be dealt with while still keeping the benefits and opportunities for those who prefer online learning.