As a student, it is a priority to keep both the mind and body healthy. The sudden change from online to in-person learning has created a stressful mentality with constant anxiety. “This adjustment has either been good for kids or really hard for them,” school social worker Lindsay Taylor states. 

Safety has been the prime concern for the administration; online schooling was designed to minimize physical contact, making it difficult for students to receive the proper attention for learning. In a recent poll of 70 students, 63 percent decided that in-person is a better environment for beneficial education. Although, the other 27 percent believed that online teaching was better for their mental health. “Having to do school online makes it easier for me because I don’t have to please teachers right then and there,” sophomore Kennedy Anderson expresses. 

Teaching through the screen creates different perspectives for each student, “it depends on the person, some people can excel online and struggle in the classroom because of the way they learn,” Spanish teacher Jeff Bader states; “In the classroom you have more opportunities, to have that help from the teacher who is constantly there.”

Depending on the environment that the student feels comfortable in, both classroom and technology learning have benefits and disadvantages mentally. The brain of an adolescent teenager is not fully developed; therefore, taking a deep impact to any major change is dramatically or mentally destructive. When comparing the two learning environments students have specific opinions on how this adjustment changed them, “Being back at school is great to see your friends but it’s hard to meet all of your teachers expectations,” Anderson explains. 

Maintaining a good balance of both challenge and comfort is difficult for a student, but stress comes with trying to push past the limits. Taylor explains helpful solutions to a healthy mindset. “I think the best way to help with this stress is identifying the problem if it’s hard, what about it is hard, and look at what coping skills would help you.”

“The problem with online is that you don’t have someone to constantly help you, with in-person you have a teacher right next to you to help,” Bader expresses. He believes, being a language teacher, that lecturing face to face will improve everyone’s’ intellectual understanding. 

Having roughly 4,000 kids at a school creates anxious surroundings; as depression is the lack of serotonin and today’s environment it is hard to get that chemical with many sudden irregular school replacement methods. “It is especially hard for high school students to handle change,” science teacher Christina Meyer states.

If there is any stressful or anxious situation that is too hard to handle go to the support groups. Contact Mrs. Taylor in room C105 or scan the QR codes around the school to get the help needed.