Starting from early September last year, BSM provided students with two options for learning mode: Hybrid and All Virtual. While most students choose to stay on campus doing the hybrid mode, there are still lots of students who choose to do online learning, including myself. As a special education form suited for the pandemic, it is changing with the times.

According to BSM Assistant Principal, Mr. Matthew Weingartz, there has been some change in the number of virtual learners as the year has progressed.

“There has been some change as you can see over the course of the year. Learning models selection has been the choice of the parents, so if the numbers have gone up or down it is based on parents choosing the learning model that best fits their comfort level in these Covid times,” Weingartz said.

The percentage increased first in the end of November and dropped in January, showing that students prefer to stay at home during November and December and prefer to study in school in January. As a student who also chose to do all virtual learning since November, it’s not hard to understand the trend that’s showing in the statistics.

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Cold weather would be the number one reason on my list. The temperature is freezing outside at the end of November, which makes me want to stay warm and cozy inside the house. Sleep schedule can also be a huge problem for teenagers like me. We like to stay up a lot during the week, which gives us a hard time waking up early in the morning. In that case, if students choose to do distance learning instead of in-person classes, they will get at least half an hour extra for their sleep time. In that way, students will have more energy the next day to deal with the academic and athletic challenge.

Covid is a big concern for parents when they think about the choices for their kids. In early November, when the Covid issue was still severe in Minnesota, experts predicted another outbreak after Thanksgiving. Many families chose to do distance learning to prevent the risk in that situation. Also, some households with elderly may also choose distance learning because Christmas is usually celebrated with family. However, with the vaccine being more broadly used in the state and the downward trend of the pandemic, parents may now see the risk being mitigated and prefer in person learning.
Apparently, there are more reasons and aspects in real life for students and parents. Every family has their own situation and point of view. We are all learning and adapting in this pandemic.