Nobody thought that a year ago today, we would still be dealing with this covid problem. At the time, everyone thought that it was only going to last maybe a few months, and then be over; but things took a turn. Nobody expected that the 2021 class wouldn’t be able to have a normal senior year. This year has been exceptionally hard for students and teachers. From the teachers now having to use technology as their source of teaching, to students not being able to be in the classroom learning. Most students are failing this year because of the virtual learning, and because it is hard for teachers to do their job when they unfortunately, cannot be hands on like they used to be.

One of the best things that the school board has decided is that exams are optional this year. There are many reasons as to why exams are optional this year. One being that, a lot of kids are failing their classes this year. Though if they do decided to take the exam, and they get a bad grade on it, it won’t effect their grade at all; it will just simply not go in the grade book. Some students, however, are going to take the exam because they need a boost for their grade. And most students are very happy with the fact that they don’t have to go into the school and take an exam. Grace Polizos, a rising senior stated, “Teachers making exams optional this year is probably one of the best things they could have done to take unnecessary stress off of students; we have been struggling enough as it is”.

Another thing that is helping out students with stress is that teachers have created “Recovery Modules”. This is basically 10-2o questions about different things you’ve learned about in the class you are trying to recover for. Taking these short quizzes will allow you to bring your failing grade up to a passing grade. A lot of these Recovery Modules are for students who have been struggling in math this year. As challenging as it is, hopefully, most students will do what they need to do in order to pass this year.