January 2021
By Keila Rosales, Editor-in-Chief
Starting a new school year in-person was not possible for many students worldwide but KAC students are serving as an example of how highschoolers are dealing with all of this yet-to-be-over commotion. Many students have decided to stay online; when in-person learning resumed in October, only about 30% of students in KIPP Austin schools chose to return to campus. The number was even lower at KAC, where only 130 of our 751 students opted to return. Why did students stay away? Some cited health or safety, but others were probably hoping to avoid an ex or that teacher.
I, on the other hand, needed to come back. At home, it can be hard to keep yourself doing school work or even collaborating in class. Sometimes you have little to no motivation, and don’t get me wrong this comes from all perspectives. Teachers’ main job is to work with their students (even if we don’t want to work with them), and being face-to-face helps them recognize their students’ tricks. In person, they’re even better able to deal with the annoying kid asking for extra credit at the last minute–not me though, I would never (sarcasm). Bugging them during their lunch break is mainly what you do face-to-face: you bug your coach about the next week’s game, or they tease you because you lost last week’s game.
On the school campus I have felt robotic following the lines plastered against the walls and the stickers one the ground maintain six feet at all cost. If you don’t do it, the teachers will go berserk, which is already scary enough since they’re the ones in control of our grades. In reality, it feels like a loss; the times you’re supposed to enjoy in your high-school years are gone. All you can do is hope for the best future.
Well that was dramatic. But the regulations at school are real, and pretty much everywhere you go. Six feet of distance, mask on, wash your hands (boys, cough, cough). Everyone knows them. Well, I hope everyone knows them…
But coming back to school has been helpful to my grades, and I guess seeing Ms. Shaw a mile away makes me feel better. I mean seeing anyone–even a frenemy–is kind of a relief. Again, school is a safe zone. If you feel like coming back, do it. Just get ready for Ms. Lopez checking your dress code every transition. Like old times.
The Cardinal Post 