Week 6 Reflection

During the transition to online learning in the recent COVID-19 pandemic, I was working at a prestigious private school in Toronto catering to grades 9 to 12. The students at the boarding school came from various corners of the globe. As the shift from in-person to online instruction unfolded, some students opted to fly home, while approximately 15 students couldn’t and remained in the boarding school throughout the academic year. In my multifaceted role as an educational support, camp counsellor, and student caregiver in the boarding school, I observed the back and forth between online and face-to-face learning.

During online learning, students expressed that they liked staying in their sweatpants all day and doing their work from the comfort of their dorms. However, issues arose around our students, who felt lonely and isolated from their friends. Because they went back and forth between online and face-to-face so much throughout the year, they said they liked it because it felt like a hybrid model.

I was never a student during COVID, but I would prefer to learn mostly face-to-face with the occasional online day if I had to choose. I feel more motivated by in-person learning that occurs in a face-to-face community, but I always appreciate a day every once in a while when I do not have to leave my house.