With many things switching to an online format in 2020, teachers share their thoughts on how they dealt with the major shift in education that came along with that.

On March 23, 2020, when the covid lockdown began, school transitioned to an online format for learning. Prior to this, something that was a big change for many. Due to COVID-19 Protocols, many schools across the world went remote.

“It was a very tough transition and PE was such a physical class,” said Brendan Hyland, a Physical Education Teacher at Skyline High School. “ I think it was not fun for the students,” 

Many teachers, like Hyland, had a rough time switching to full online and likely affected the way they taught their respective subjects. 

“I think participation, however, took a hit,” Hyland continues. “Only about 60% of the students would fully participate while the rest would somewhat or not at all. This was very challenging when only half the class was fully listening.”

Hyland also recalls more students increasingly stopped going to class over the semester and had lost the motivation to keep learning online. He speculates that this could be caused by the lack of a classroom environment. 

“I do think“,” however, this gave students more time to complete work.” “Like sort of a college experience but some kids may have been too young to actually use their time effectively and usefully,” Brendan Hyland said.

Online school did however have some benefits such as better grades and more time to do school work but may not have been the best socially for students. 

Hyland has been affected by the pandemic in many ways not just for Physical Education class, also coaches cross country and the track team at Skyline. The two sports were canceled due to Covid in the last year. 

The pandemic canceled high school seasons or put it on hold, this caused many seasons to be shortened or changed to fit the school year. This was a very unprecedented time for many, especially for school athletes.

Hyland, who has been at the high school for more than 20 years, hopes things can go back to normal next year with no more protocols while keeping everybody safe. Safety being a priority can limit the amount of interaction with the students. 

Hyland continues to stay optimistic for the future but it is unknown surrounding the global pandemic at this time.