The Fort Issue 06 June 2020 | Page 36

Remote Learning – As I view it

Contrarily, I also find that the at-home lifestyle is an opportunity to embrace new skills and experiences. Interestingly enough, it’s not such a pain to live life in a completely different timezone. Getting up at 9:25 is rather convenient and having to shower, eat breakfast and get dressed (at least from waist up) in this brief five minute time frame has taught me the importance of speed.

Another thing I had to adapt to at home was organizing my own study plan. Before, we would compulsively spend forty-five to ninety minutes with a subject each day. Now, the possibility of dealing with the same amount of material in a way that suits my learning best has presented itself. I am glad to say that after hours of hard planning and dedication, I have aquired the infamous method of doing every last piece of work on Sunday night (also followed by many of my fellow classmates).

Overall, I would like to say that moving from the school to home is an issue that can be dealt with if we are willing to put in the extra effort and dedication. Our learning has unexpectedly become a bigger responsibility than expected, and is more in our hands than ever. It is a bit like if all of a sudden, the animals of the zoo were asked to take charge of maintaining their cage based on instructions coming from the loudspeakers. Although the instructions from the loudspeaker are clear, it takes a bit of effort and trial to make it sense of the new situation. Unfortunately no matter the amount of work put in, the platypus will continuously fail to change a lightbulb in its enclosure, some will forever struggle to find the zoom link.

I remember the last day of school before it was announced that we would have to retreat to the comfort of our homes for a couple days. The idea had been an elephant in the room for some time previously, only surfacing in relation to other countries or as the subject of a joke. Now, it’s been well over two months, and we can only hope that schools will start again in September

On one hand, the situation is quite uncomfortable because it is one where we have to teach ourselves that would otherwise be provided at school. Not necessarily the academic material, but rather the subtle information and influences that would usually go unnoticed, and yet its absence suddenly becomes a problem when I’m studying at home. These are things like the bells, constant verbal reminders for assignments and the demand from those around me to create something more memorable than an unsalted scrambled egg by the end of the year.

Vince Banyai , Grade 9

As long as you have an appropriate top, you should be fine. On top of this, once we finished our IGCSE courses, we have started our Personal Project and optional classes in Grade 10, as well as our Writing to Success course. The Personal Project allows us to do something we like so it is a good opportunity for us to expand our knowledge where it matters. School has also been shortened to end at 2:30 now, so us students get more free time than previous timetables. At home, you can be more comfortable too, choosing a location that is best suited for your learning.

Distanced Learning is, however, still an issue outside of the academic life we all have. Socializing with friends has changed to calling them, but after a while even calling gets boring. I feel as though this situation has, however, strengthened our bonds as we miss each other even more. Even people we might not necessarily be that close with have become just as missed as our closer friends.