Schools are being shut down all over. Since the beginning of COVID-19 in March, Bingham has already had two periods of online learning and we are halfway through our third round. Learning online this fall was far superior to our spring closure because of the preparation, organization, and contact over zoom. The trouble in March was no one’s fault. We just hadn’t had a situation like it before.  

In March, no one quite knew what was going on. Everyone was trying their best to keep school going as much as possible. The administration and staff were working to help the students learn as much as they could. At the beginning, the teachers were even advised to give the same amount of work as they would normally give. This turned out to be a little much, but it was our first school closure, so how were we to know? Don’t worry this soon was changed as the school recognized the struggles students had with keeping up. Another trouble that came with the homework is many teachers didn’t have an easy, efficient way to turn work back in. This made it hard for the students to keep up in their classes. Students felt they were trying to get one assignment in and they got ten new ones. 

This time wasn’t just hard on the students, though, the teachers had to figure out how to balance how much work was expected and still give their students a good academic experience. It was also hard for teachers to recreate things into an online format. They also couldn’t require kids to join their zoom classes which made it hard to give instruction. At the beginning, the teachers only got a weekend to prepare and change their curriculum to fit the new instructions they were given when the governor shut down schools. 

By the time we had to shut down again this fall, we had learned how to make life a little easier for everyone at Bingham. Teachers knew how to get any needed information to their students. The students had a set schedule which helped them keep up with their classes. We also got to have some human interaction over our required zoom meetings.

“I liked having the interaction with zoom calls,” said Marshall Pease, a Bingham High senior. We all need social interaction and we will take it however we can get it. 

This is a whole new experience. Our lives and instructions are constantly changing. Our administration is constantly working to help the students, teachers, and other faculty members. We all are working together. As we look back at the differences between our two completed online learning periods, look how we have learned and improved things. 

“I think we could all do better at appreciating each other more, avoiding criticizing each other, and being a little more positive,” said Marinda Quist, an English teacher at Bingham. This sentiment is so true during these unpredictable times. We are all still learning and changing things to help everyone. After all, from March to October, a lot has improved for us while we are online.