From Delone to Home: Distance Learning

by Mary Burke

This school year marks an unprecedented time in Delone Catholic’s history, in which students had the opportunity to attend school from their own homes. Due to the spread of COVID-19, schools all across the country, including Delone Catholic, were closed to contain the virus. 

This led to the new and innovative installation of remote learning for students and teachers. For part of the third quarter - and the entirety of the fourth quarter - of the school year, students worked on assignments, tests, and homework using their computers from home. Such a unique and uncertain time called for a unique way of learning and teaching: thus, online learning became the new norm for students everywhere. 

The method has both benefits and drawbacks, but is necessary for such an unpredictable time. Teachers and students alike found themselves adjusting to an entirely new environment of education. 

“School is a motivating environment for me, but my house is not,” says senior student Mary Caroline Hoverkamp, “I think remote learning needs to be flexible to accommodate student’s home lives.” 

Flexibility of assignments was an important step taken by Delone Catholic to ensure that students succeed during such a difficult period. However, an important balance needed to be found in order to ensure that students were continuing to learn and complete assignments. 

Google Meets and Zoom, two programs for video meetings, were used to provide remote instruction, and allow students to communicate with teachers face-to-face. Classes met twice a week, for one half-hour each meeting. 

Four classes met per day: the first four on Tuesdays and Thursdays, and the last four on Wednesdays and Fridays. Though Monday was used as a teacher workday, without homework or assignments, it was designated as an opportunity for students to catch up on any work that they may have missed. 

Though the implementation of remote learning was essential, many feel as though in-person instruction was more beneficial. No matter how well online learning is installed into education, they believe that it cannot replace education in person. 

Spanish and Latin teacher Jessica Reed states, “I think that students miss the social interactions, and, when given the choice to learn remotely or in person, they would choose in person.” 

Many students feel the same way. “I believe I would benefit more from learning in person than remote learning,” says Hoverkamp, “but I understand that remote learning was absolutely necessary in this situation.” 

Student performance has also been a concern during this time. Some have adjusted better to learning from home than others. Flexible assignments and due dates were implemented early on to help students adjust to remote instruction. Despite this, many students deal with a lack of motivation to complete assignments. 

Freshman student Sara Stanley states, “I feel like the lack of motivation is the hardest thing about remote learning as a student.” 

For this reason, remote learning has posed a challenge for teachers and students. This is understandable: education now takes place in an entirely different atmosphere than before. Becoming accustomed to this new environment takes time, energy, and motivation. 

Despite these challenges, Delone Catholic students continue to strive for success and academic excellence. Many are beginning to find that online learning has its own benefits to in-person learning, and that it teaches more than just the material. 

“It made me value so much more the time I have in the classroom with the students and the time that I get to spend with my colleagues,” Reed states. “I knew I would miss everyone, but I didn’t know how much. You know the old saying, ‘You never know what you have until it's gone?’ Yeah. I feel that. A lot.”