By: Shauna Connelly
Exactly how could you prepare for the unexpected? Through all of the challenges of the 2020-2021 school year, Salisbury High School learned unforgettable lessons. Ultimately, students and teachers adapted to a new learning environment together.
To begin, teachers at Salisbury noticed a difference in students from previous years. As a result of remote learning, students had a harder time finding the motivation to participate in class. Mrs. Dos wrote, “ I do think that it depends on a student’s intrinsic motivation – what makes them do well…I think it is harder to be motivated when online, but that is purely my opinion from experiences since last year.” On a positive note, she went on to say that students were notably appreciative of coming back to school on a hybrid schedule. “I think having been through such a scary time does tend to bring people closer together even if we had/have to stay apart..”
In addition to this, Mr. Hahn found that students had a different attitude in class. “…students somehow lost the ability to interact while in quarantine. They don’t speak to me or each other in class! They don’t even goof off! I never thought I’d miss that part of it..” He recognized the challenges of this past year. “We were forced to do things we never thought we would have to, and now we are doing them regularly. I know I am teaching through a computer (who thought that could happen?) and students are wearing masks all day long and it’s normal.”
On the other hand, students found that quarantine was beneficial upon reflecting on it. Brooke Bleam, a freshman, wrote, “…no matter how crazy a year is there will always be someone there to support you whether it is a teacher, coach, family member or friend.” The majority of students felt this way. The unexpected change taught students the importance of gratitude. Zachary Baab said, “…we did our best with the situation and made the most out of it every day and still learned and had a successful year.”
In truth, it is almost impossible to prepare for the unexpected. Salisbury learned and adjusted to the change that coronavirus brought on us. These adjustments made the way for a memorable, remarkable year. After all, nobody thought a global pandemic would strike the nation.
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