Students and teachers have faced many challenges throughout this school year compared to prior years.  At Greeley West High School, students had to adjust to new changes within its hybrid schedule.

West junior Weris Ali attends two days in person and three days online. Ali stated, “This year isn’t going as well as I expected, it is very stressful and hard to keep up with assignments.”

One of the big factors that has Ali wishing for a five-day week is her interaction with her teachers.  She would much rather be in school hearing from the teachers directly.  “I’d much rather be in school all five days of the week than two days. When at school, you are surrounded by students and teachers which motivates you to get things done,” Ali said.

Some of the particular challenges Ali has faced are technological in nature.  “Online isn’t for me. There are many complications that come with it such as bad connection, not fully understanding the teacher or assignments, quizzes and tests,” Ali said.

Other technological issues arise in the actual classroom.  When half of the students are online and half are in person, the students who are online can hardly see the board and sometimes may not be able to hear the teacher or other students talking.  Junior Elize Moore also says that things are more difficult when you are learning virtually. “Being in person is much easier. It’s almost like the old times at school,” Moore said.  “There are some teachers who don’t have you on Zoom meetings for very long, which helps you work at your own pace.”

Students agree that when online that they get to set their own schedule and not feel rushed doing assignments.  However, some students say that when online you get easily distracted and cannot rely on the internet. Junior Nasra Muhumed says that she likes the hybrid schedule. “It may not seem like before, but I’m glad we still have the opportunity to be at school,” Muhumed said.

Organization is also a factor contributing to student difficulty with the hybrid schedule.  “(Organization) could be stressful. Teachers try their best to help us understand and allow you to do makeup work, and retake tests or quizzes,” Ali said.

Although it may seem like this is hard just for students, teachers have faced challenges as well.

History teacher Ms, Lea Sanford stated, I feel that the hybrid model has its problems but reducing class sizes is helping make school safer-which I feel should be a top priority,” Sanford said.

Even though students may complain about school, they realize they’ve taken school for granted.

School is a source of communication and learning new things and new people and building bonds with teachers and students. Ali said, “I miss getting to see my friends every day and being able to sit with them and work together on projects. It doesn’t feel the same because mostly everyone is just quiet.”

Ali also stated, ” When we were full on in person learning, everyone had responsibilities to wake up early and get to class. It is much harder to wake up when you know you are in your bedroom throughout the day.”