Much of the 2020-2021 school year, Poway High School students crawled out of bed every morning and logged into Zoom. While some students tuned into the lesson, others rolled over and went back to sleep. A year where Quizlets were there for students’ every need and cheating was an easy temptation at their fingertips. 

Even with the new Omicron variant of Covid-19 spreading faster than ever, online learning should not become reality for Poway High students ever again. 

Online school led to a lack of learning for most students. Zooming in bed with phones in hand, there were better things to do than listen to our teachers talk through a computer screen. With the internet just one click away, many students were not learning much, as all it took to turn in an assignment was to copy and paste.

On top of all that, mental health for students hit an all time low during online school. The lack of social interaction and inability to live life like a normal teenager took a toll on students. Mental health should be one of the top priorities for students, especially during a global pandemic when spirits are already low. 

Many people argue that returning online will stop the virus from spreading from student to student. But, even if we were to return online, the school cannot do anything about what students do outside of school. This means that even if learning was all done at home, students will continue to interact with one another on a personal level in their own time, thus making the reason for online schooling pointless. 

The biggest question being asked around Poway High is whether or not we can return to online learning. The answer stands with California law, as of June 2021, which prevents schools from returning online under most circumstances even with rising cases. Phil Ting, a politician serving for the California State Assembly, prompted the passing of this law, and expressed his concerns about the social isolation and lack of learning being done at home. 

As cases rise and the pandemic grows, schools should and will remain open to give hope to students of a promising future with as good of an education as they can get.