With the continuation of the Coronavirus, schools all over the world are having to come up with creative ways to commence the school year. Because the virus has spread so suddenly, every method strategized to help teach students was very much rushed. This isn’t a dig at the teachers or the district because, of course, with the uncertainty of the coronavirus, there hasn’t been time to figure out things that should be set in stone. 

The choice that the district made for schools was to fluctuate between asynchronous and synchronous learning. This means that school time will be split between zoom calls with all of the students in that class and independent study time where the students will be working by themselves on a project or an assignment. This sounds great and easily flexible, however not every teacher is the same, and not every class is the same.

For example, some classes contain lessons that last the entire 90 minute period and some do not. Some teachers will sometimes allow students to leave the zoom call once they’ve finished their work. This exact situation creates a problem. Because of the uncertain scheduled time during zoom calls, working students can not always be guaranteed a certain time to work. This means if they’re helping their parents with bills or if they have to pay for their car or phone, they won’t be able to anymore. There are also students who take care of their siblings while their parents work and won’t be able to concentrate on the scheduled zoom call. 

This is why virtual learning is so difficult for many students. When the stay at home order came into effect, many students got used to the asynchronous feel. Many students could work around their own schedule because they could do their homework and school whenever convenient for them. Now that students are working around the zoom schedule, no one really has a set time frame to go to their jobs or have free time. If all classes were asynchronous, students would have time for everything.

One Centennial high school student, Areen Mohammed, claims she “doesn’t have the motivation to work,” because of how unpredictable this type of learning is. She also stated that “the deadlines are hard to keep track of,” referencing the uncertainty of teacher’s work schedules.

Another Centennial student, Gianpaul Curioso, is frustrated with “the due dates being at 12:00 am rather than the next day in class.” He also talked about how difficult it is to keep up with different websites because every teacher uses a different one.

In short, virtual learning is becoming increasingly difficult. With new websites for every class, wifi issues and everyone’s different schedules, mandatory scheduled classes just aren’t going to work.