Online school brought us many challenges. It began as just a two week system before the virus took over the world and now we’ve been dealing with it for almost a year. It has been difficult to properly understand some assignments, get in contact with teachers aside from office hours, and even just enjoy school as much as we used to. All the negatives aside, online school actually had some benefits. Once you take these into account it doesn’t seem as bad as you may have thought.

First off, students got more sleep. Class did not start until 9 a.m. which meant that many of us were able to sleep for longer than we normally would with an 8 a.m. on campus start. More sleep was something that many students wanted during the regular school year, and online school gave access to that.

Second, there was one less day of school per week. With how difficult it was getting in contact with teachers, faculty knew they had to find a way for us to come and ask for help. This is when office hour Fridays came into play. Students that needed help could get some while the rest had a day off to work on homework or relax at home.

The best part about online school was we could eat whenever we wanted to: passing periods, during class with our cameras off (sorry, teachers), etc. We did not have to pack a lunch because we could just walk to our kitchens and get a snack. As much as some kids did not like online school you cannot complain about being able to eat whenever you feel hungry.

“I think we were so focused on the negatives that we forgot to look at the positives,” senior Ben Hall said.

Another senior, Flynn Hoare, said, “I’ll be happy to be back on campus, but there will be some things I’ll miss about online school.”

With the 25% return to campus, those leaving home for school are beginning to notice that distance learning was not so bad.

Online school had many benefits that were overlooked because school was not fun anymore. We may not be able to see our friends everyday and hang out after school in the parking lot, but there are many benefits to online school compared to going to campus. Once these benefits are recognized, students can realize that, yes, we all miss being on campus together, but online school has not been as bad as we all originally thought.