A Scholar's Viewpoint on School Closures

Written By: Rohit Kandi

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Wow. What a year! 2020 has been mind-boggling. Now that summer is coming to an end, many students and parents are faced with the tough decision of whether or not to send their children to school. Due to the MASSIVE spread of COVID-19, many communities and stores have had to shut down and find innovative ways to use the technology around them. Many students are now resorting to Zoom, “an easy cloud platform for video, voice, and content sharing that runs among multiple technology devices.” (Zoom) Some students and parents, on the other hand, do not have access to reliable technology and must go back to in-person teaching, increasing the chance for the virus to spread.

Being a scholar, my parents and I were faced with a somewhat stressful decision on whether or not me and my siblings should go back to school. Since I had done online school previously for one full semester, I knew very well that it would not be as effective as going to in-person teaching. On the other hand, the consequences of going to in-person teaching were VERY obvious. After many weeks of constant arguing and door-slamming, my parents and I came to the executive decision of having me and my siblings doing online learning. Now...you might be wondering to yourself, “How are you going to make sure that you are being educated?” That is a perfectly reasonable question, and I will answer it with a quote said by Abraham Lincoln himself:

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“You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.”

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Based on my understanding, this quote emphasizes the idea that as the future, it is OUR responsibility to continue to learn for OURSELVES and not see this situation as some sore excuse. Obviously, this whole COVID-19 situation has rattled our minds, but it is now more important than ever to continue to learn and adapt to our surroundings. With the obvious consequences of in-person learning, I am sure most students and parents will resort to in-person teaching. Although it may seem ineffective at first, it is ultimately the scholar’s responsibility to make the most of the situation. In other words, just because we are in online school doesn’t mean that you get to half-heart it. If you would like more information on this topic, please check out our first official Season 1 episode on the Settle The Dust Podcast that is about the CORONAVIRUS!

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This is the first blog post for S1, E1: Coronavirus (COVID-19) on the Settle The Dust Podcast.

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