Coming Back to School: People's Thoughts

The school year of 2021-2022 has begun at school. Both students and teachers have been waiting for it for a very long time. Last school year was almost fully online and it is very interesting to know what has changed in the perspective of students, as well as teachers. This article will cover students’ thoughts about coming physically to school, the grading system, how the amount of homework has changed, and an interview from one of the teachers will be presented.

One of the most interesting things regarding this subject, and the school in general, are the grades, especially considering the fact that the progress reports have been sent to students just a few weeks ago. I was interested in whether the grades have improved or not. So, I asked a couple of the GZAAT students about their opinions. “My grades have surprisingly increased as compared to the grades that I had last year at this time. Probably one of the main reasons for this is being physically at school since when we were online it was harder for me to engage in the class discussions and just overall be active. Maybe because while being at school in person, it feels more comfortable compared to being in zoom. When at school I sort of want to be a part of the class more.” says one of the GZAAT students who preferred to stay anonymous. Another answer comes from a 10th-grade student. “The shift from online school to physical school was a drastic change. For me, physical school is more enjoyable since we get to communicate with our classmates, which we can't do in online school, participation in classes is easier, and classes are more fun.”

But the opinions of the students were not enough, as there are always two sides to a subject. After surveying students, I went even further and interviewed one of the English teachers.

Mariam Khidesheli: “I personally enjoy having students here in class. They seem more enthusiastic. As much as we try to make zoom comfortable for everyone, it has some issues, distractions, etc. While at class, I think students take it more seriously, they are engaged, they enjoy it much because of the relationships and everything, it’s just can’t be compared to the online experience that we had previously. One of the weakest sides of zoom, when students are online, is that they are more dependent on google, Grammarly, gadgets, and all that sort of stuff, as opposed to when they are here, they memorize things better because they are not distracted, they try to listen most of the time. I’ve noticed that even those students that have been passive online, are more active when they come to school physically. In zoom, whether or not you are seeing all of your classmates, it still doesn’t feel like you are part of the group. As far as the homework is concerned, I think that the fact that you come to school and you know that it is not that easy to fake that you’ve read something at home, they are more engaged in a sense that they work harder. Grading, for us teachers, is also a lot easier when we are at school because when students are online there are some things that we are unable to do, as I mentioned for example with quizzes and tests, it is harder to check. I wouldn’t say that my strictness in grading has changed, the only thing is that it is easier for me to evaluate the students when they are here, not only because of the homework, tests, quizzes but also because of students participating more when they are physically at school. Because a student might know the subject very well, but can’t communicate it through zoom. For example, I actually had students, when they were online, there were sometimes people walking in the background such as their siblings or parents, and it’s harder for them to talk at that time. And that’s something that affects your perception of the student. It is always better to have students in the class.”

Furthermore, one of the benefits of being physically at school is the chance of wider interactions among students, as well as students and teachers. In zoom, the relationship between students was beginning when the lesson was starting, and finishing the second the teacher would press the “End Meeting” button, for the most part at least. Here is what one of the respondents, has to say: “One of the most important parts of a human's life is communication, interactions with other people. Online classes took that away from us, but since we returned to the school, we get to see our classmates on a daily basis. Even though the interaction is limited, it is way better than sitting at home, isolated from any human contact.”

To sum up, the transition from online school to physical school has been enjoyable for teachers as well as students. This mode of teaching encourages students to be more involved in the class discussion, allows them to build stronger relationships with their classmates, and receive better grades, as it is easier for the teachers to grade students that are physically attending the lessons.

Edited by Kato Dadiani