Student share positives, negatives of virtual classes

Although the return to in-person classes at Riverside hasn’t been perfect, most students believe it’s been much better than going virtual. 

Many students felt that virtual classes weren’t very effective. They also said that they would get very distracted and not learn anything.

“I had a hard time trying to concentrate on the work,” said freshman Carla Castillo.

Many students also talked about how hard it was to focus while being at home.

Other students didn’t enjoy it as much because they couldn’t have parties and clubs from home. Many experienced difficulties with the computers and couldn’t even access the websites that the teachers told them to go to. 

The tech issues led them to occupy themselves in other ways.

“I would either play video games or just be on my phone,” said freshman Jonathan Diaz Reyes.

During the virtual portion of the school year students missed the social interaction,too. Some said it affected their mental health. 

“I didn’t get to see any of my teachers or meet new people,” said freshman Amaya Clegg.

While Clegg missed collaborating with her classmates, some students preferred to stay virtual because they could work at their own pace. 

“It is less stressful,” said senior Avery Knowles.

Students in Vanessa Richards’ math class study a math activity during the 2020-21 school year. Photo by Janel Perry

Leave a Reply