"What OSA looked and felt like before covid, isn’t exactly what it is now. As OSA is adapting and changing, what do students and teachers think?"-- MAya MAstropasqua, 7th grade
A lot of things can change in a year and half, especially when you throw Covid in the mix. Certain differences pop out, some things get better, some things worse--opinions change. What OSA looked and felt like before covid, isn’t exactly what it is now. As OSA is adapting and changing, what do students and teachers think?
Jeff Foster, a P.E. teacher at OSA shared his thoughts on the school’s changes. When talking about what main differences he’s noticed between before Covid school and now, he says, “Masks make everything significantly more difficult, especially in P.E. But it’s definitely worth it to wear them so that we can have school in person.”
With these new protocols in place, and having been away for a while, Foster remarks that OSA, is in fact, better. “Though there have been setbacks and obstacles along the way, OSA has continued to expand and grow through every challenge,” he says.
In the time that we took away from school, we as people, and our feelings towards things have changed. “When I first started it was much smaller, and therefore easier to manage from a teacher’s standpoint,” he says. “As it has grown the changes have been stressful at times, but it is never ever boring!” Comparing the things he liked before Covid and now, Foster says, “It’s the same for both before and after, a continued genuine interest in arts from a broad range of students and teachers.”
Lola Abajian is an eighth grade student at OSA. Being here since sixth grade, before Covid she has first hand noticed the school’s changes. When asked about the biggest differences she’s seen she says, “Definitely the bathroom thing,” explaining how annoying it is that only two people can go in at a time. “This isn’t related to Covid but the electives too,”she adds, mentioning the newly added middle school subpathway electives on Tuesday and Wednesday. “We never had those before.”
For Abajian, pre-Covid school was more enjoyable. “In my opinion I liked OSA better in sixth grade,” she explains. “I like electives, I do, but it's kind of annoying that it takes time away from our emphasis.” She goes on to talk about the Haunted House that her emphasis, Production Design, is doing and that the electives are bad timing.
“I loved all the art shows,” Abajian recalls the things she enjoyed a year and a half ago. In terms of the difference in her education she says, “I think it all stayed the same, just changing grades.” Comparing how she felt about school, she says, “I was definitely excited when I first came here, now I’m just more excited seeing my friends.
Jordan Karnes is the chair of the Literary Arts department at OSA. “I kind of loved all the chaos even though it was overwhelming” Karnes says, reminiscing about pre-Covid school, “Like people playing instruments in the hallway, people dancing in the hallway, people singing in the hallway, all the stuff that was happening, you know it was really sweet. Even though that looks different, just seeing the human spirit.” They then discuss the quality of their teaching and the obstacles that make it harder to. “I’m still figuring it out. I’m figuring out how to teach in the room again, with masks and fan and windows, and proximity issues.”
Karnes notes the significant differences that pop to them would have to be the fact that they have to keep social distancing in mind with their teaching. “There are so many challenges to address,” they say, on whether or not the school has improved or worsened during these times.
In terms of how their attitude towards the school has changed, Karnes says, “I’m learning to be a lot more patient, so maybe in the past I would’ve been like ‘get with the program, let’s do it’ and now I’m trying and learning to be understanding that people are dealing with a lot right now.”
Holly Young is an eighth grader at OSA, who attended school for a year and a half before covid hit, She notes that a main difference is the way teachers interact with students, “They'd usually be really hands on with helping, but they can't necessarily do that in Covid times,” she says. Contrary to Foster, Young believes that school might have gotten a bit worse, saying, “It can feel very stuffy and crowded, more so than before.” Something that a lot of students could probably relate to. “I liked how they really prioritized each and every one of our needs, and they still do that, but not in the way that we could before.”
Young talks about differences in the kind of education she’s received. “I like how they realize how scary and stressful it is, and understand that and let us feel those emotions.”
With the year and a half that we’ve had on distance learning, we’ve gotten accustomed to different things. Our attitudes towards school might have changed. For Young, the change has been hard. “Now that I've got a taste of distance learning, I feel spoiled. I miss it a lot and it has made coming back harder,” she explains, “As a socially awkward person, I feel like now that I've got a taste of my dream school format, it's even harder for me to come back.”
All in all, OSA’s changes are pretty minor, and for the better. It’s important for institutions, especially schools, to grow over time. Hopefully, throughout the year we’ll all be able to adapt and change with our school, to make for a better OSA.
Jeff Foster, a P.E. teacher at OSA shared his thoughts on the school’s changes. When talking about what main differences he’s noticed between before Covid school and now, he says, “Masks make everything significantly more difficult, especially in P.E. But it’s definitely worth it to wear them so that we can have school in person.”
With these new protocols in place, and having been away for a while, Foster remarks that OSA, is in fact, better. “Though there have been setbacks and obstacles along the way, OSA has continued to expand and grow through every challenge,” he says.
In the time that we took away from school, we as people, and our feelings towards things have changed. “When I first started it was much smaller, and therefore easier to manage from a teacher’s standpoint,” he says. “As it has grown the changes have been stressful at times, but it is never ever boring!” Comparing the things he liked before Covid and now, Foster says, “It’s the same for both before and after, a continued genuine interest in arts from a broad range of students and teachers.”
Lola Abajian is an eighth grade student at OSA. Being here since sixth grade, before Covid she has first hand noticed the school’s changes. When asked about the biggest differences she’s seen she says, “Definitely the bathroom thing,” explaining how annoying it is that only two people can go in at a time. “This isn’t related to Covid but the electives too,”she adds, mentioning the newly added middle school subpathway electives on Tuesday and Wednesday. “We never had those before.”
For Abajian, pre-Covid school was more enjoyable. “In my opinion I liked OSA better in sixth grade,” she explains. “I like electives, I do, but it's kind of annoying that it takes time away from our emphasis.” She goes on to talk about the Haunted House that her emphasis, Production Design, is doing and that the electives are bad timing.
“I loved all the art shows,” Abajian recalls the things she enjoyed a year and a half ago. In terms of the difference in her education she says, “I think it all stayed the same, just changing grades.” Comparing how she felt about school, she says, “I was definitely excited when I first came here, now I’m just more excited seeing my friends.
Jordan Karnes is the chair of the Literary Arts department at OSA. “I kind of loved all the chaos even though it was overwhelming” Karnes says, reminiscing about pre-Covid school, “Like people playing instruments in the hallway, people dancing in the hallway, people singing in the hallway, all the stuff that was happening, you know it was really sweet. Even though that looks different, just seeing the human spirit.” They then discuss the quality of their teaching and the obstacles that make it harder to. “I’m still figuring it out. I’m figuring out how to teach in the room again, with masks and fan and windows, and proximity issues.”
Karnes notes the significant differences that pop to them would have to be the fact that they have to keep social distancing in mind with their teaching. “There are so many challenges to address,” they say, on whether or not the school has improved or worsened during these times.
In terms of how their attitude towards the school has changed, Karnes says, “I’m learning to be a lot more patient, so maybe in the past I would’ve been like ‘get with the program, let’s do it’ and now I’m trying and learning to be understanding that people are dealing with a lot right now.”
Holly Young is an eighth grader at OSA, who attended school for a year and a half before covid hit, She notes that a main difference is the way teachers interact with students, “They'd usually be really hands on with helping, but they can't necessarily do that in Covid times,” she says. Contrary to Foster, Young believes that school might have gotten a bit worse, saying, “It can feel very stuffy and crowded, more so than before.” Something that a lot of students could probably relate to. “I liked how they really prioritized each and every one of our needs, and they still do that, but not in the way that we could before.”
Young talks about differences in the kind of education she’s received. “I like how they realize how scary and stressful it is, and understand that and let us feel those emotions.”
With the year and a half that we’ve had on distance learning, we’ve gotten accustomed to different things. Our attitudes towards school might have changed. For Young, the change has been hard. “Now that I've got a taste of distance learning, I feel spoiled. I miss it a lot and it has made coming back harder,” she explains, “As a socially awkward person, I feel like now that I've got a taste of my dream school format, it's even harder for me to come back.”
All in all, OSA’s changes are pretty minor, and for the better. It’s important for institutions, especially schools, to grow over time. Hopefully, throughout the year we’ll all be able to adapt and change with our school, to make for a better OSA.
