COVID-19 has been at the forefront of our lives for months now. Everyday activities once taken for granted are now inaccessible, and we all have been impacted in ways that nobody could have predicted. With the start of the new school year, students and teachers are experiencing remote learning, something new to everyone. So what are the perspectives on this pandemic? 

Glenbard North School District 87 created a learning model that offers both fully remote and hybrid options for students. Despite this, all students are currently in a fully remote setting due to a high number of COVID cases in the area.

The School Board and district administration will meet again on October 13 to reevaluate the situation. Students and teachers could potentially return to school in-person on October 19. The district’s decisions, Glenbard North Physics teacher, Joseph Kulesza, believes “that [the district] carries a large and very heavy burden trying to make decisions that benefit the overall well-being of our students and school communities, and none of these decisions are easy ones to make.  They have worked hard to give us teachers all that we need to be as successful as possible in meeting the needs of our students, and I feel very, very supported and empowered by them to do my job as best as possible.” 

In a remote setting, many teachers are developing creative ways to teach their students. Some Fine Art students have the disadvantage of not using materials that are normally provided at school. In response, students are provided with art kits that can be used at home to create the same types of projects they would create in school. 

However, with classes like photography or ceramics, Glenbard North Art teacher April Macatangay explains, “because students don’t have access to all of the sculpture tools, for example, students have to be more independent, resourceful, and creative. We take time for students to share their own DIY hacks and I also show students how to make their own tools out of common items they may have around their home. One of the greatest silver linings is how innovative and clever we have all had to become during this whole process.” 

Even though teachers are seeking creative solutions to the problems remote learning poses, many students have a more pessimistic view on remote learning, as they have lost many of the things that made them love school. Senior Logan Van Lerberghe, ’21, says, “I lost everything else I love to do. I am heavily involved in the theatre and music departments, and since we rely on in-person gatherings and live performances it has been a hard and painful adjustment.” Freshman Krish Patel, ’24, adds, “COVID has affected my freshman year because I don’t really know the structure of the building, so when I go back, I would be confused.” Like many of their peers, both Van Lerberghe and Patel are saddened by the inability to have normal school experience. 

Though the changes brought upon the school year due to COVID-19 have their positives and negatives, both students and teachers can agree on one thing: the community should follow the safety guidelines set by the county. People should be responsible and mindful of the health of themselves and others. The more people quarantine and stay safe, the faster they can return to a normal school year.

Macatangay says, “We need to dive deep into our wells of empathy to do what we know we need to do to stay healthy and to help keep those around us healthy no matter how inconvenient and uncomfortable we may feel.”