As YLHS expects to return to an in-person hybrid model in November, since students have been learning online since March, some may have gotten used to it and aren’t ready to go back. Of course, students would want to go back to seeing their friends every day, but going back to school will not exactly be like how we remembered.

One of the biggest issues that students will have to face is getting back into a routine. The most obvious transition is having to wake up early again. Students have been allowed to wake up seconds before class starts throughout the online school. But after almost eight months of being lazy, students are certainly going to be forced to resume their early schedules.

Hannah Bucklin (11) agrees when she said “I don’t know if I’ll be able to get up so early anymore. I know that it’s normal and that we have been doing it ever since we were younger, but a lot changes over eight months, and getting back into the routine is going to be tough.”

Since online school allows students to take exams at home, whether or not students are allowed to use outside help, it is not a surprise that some do. However, when students go back to school, days spent on campus will be used for tests and quizzes where students can no longer cheat. Not only do students have to take more exams again, but they also have to remember how to study if they haven’t since March. Also, a hybrid model allows for students to take exams on specified days. This makes classes more likely to give tests and quizzes on the same day causing more stress for students the night before.

According to the PYLUSD return to school plan, the hybrid model would include “students being divided into A and B cohorts… While the A group is in person, the B group will complete the day’s assignments and activities online, from home, and vice versa when the B group is in person.” However, a common concern is that when students are learning online, they will not be receiving direct instruction and will be self-studying instead. Meaning, it is better to stay 100% online where teachers can directly teach students more regularly, than to use half of the week as a form of independent education.

Not only do students have to worry about an increased workload and a new system, but taking safety precautions adds another element to going back to school. PYLUSD has released a video on how schools will stay safe when we return. It includes an in-depth view of classroom set-ups, sanitization, new rules, etc. But spending around seven hours in a place with strict safety rules and guidelines is much more intense than simply staying home and wearing a mask occasionally.

Overall, we don’t know what going back to school will look like. But based on how students are doing in the current situation, going back to school doesn’t seem to be as easy as it was to transition to online school in March. Mustangs are more than excited to return to making memories at school, but until conditions improve, students can enjoy attending class in their pajamas every day.