5:30 a.m., my alarm goes off; 6 a.m. breakfast; 6:30 a.m. is when the bus comes; 7 a.m. first period, and classes all day until 2:26 p.m. I get home around 3:15 p.m. and now it is time for studying. Five hours later, it is dinner time and then back to studying. 

This is my everyday schedule for 40 out of the 52 weeks of the year. It is repetitive and boring and leaves no room for the imagination. However, remote learning has changed that.

The broad consensus about e-learning has been that it is tedious, hard, and time consuming. I am here to tell you that it does not have to be that bad. Trust me, remote learning is here to stay for who knows how long. Sitting here and complaining about it is not going to make it any easier. 

With remote learning, we have more time to learn. For those of us who just do not learn from 45-minute lectures, the 90-minute block schedule is a great opportunity to take advantage of. Teachers are more likely to go into more depth and take more time on a lesson, rather than breezing through a lecture and having no time for questions. 

Even if it is not a live lesson, videos are a great way to learn. They allow students to work and learn at their own pace, take adequate notes, and digest the information being taught to them in a way that they can understand.

In addition to dedicating more time to learning, the 90-minute block schedule gives students more time to work on their homework, which allows them to focus better on the subject at hand and not worry about their next class. 

However, some students may argue that the extra time they receive in this new block schedule decreases motivation.

“I think it’s harder for some kids to stay focused and motivated by only a time limit on a drop box, instead of handing something in person,” senior Caitlin Walker said.

Many teachers have been staying on Zoom whilst their students do their work, giving students even more resources to help them out. Breakout rooms are another great example of new resources that allow students to get the help and attention they need. 

Speaking up in class is often nerve racking, and social anxiety is real. With breakout rooms, students have the opportunity to converse with their peers and teachers in a smaller, less judgmental environment.

Many students would agree with me when I say that school is extremely stressful. No matter how hard teachers or administration may work to make our school day enjoyable, for some of us, it is still hard to make it through those grueling seven hours. 

With e-learning, the stress of everyday high school is eliminated. You do not have to worry about the rush of getting to your next class, finding the right place to sit at lunch, getting a good seat on the bus, hearing who is dating who, or wondering if the new rumor you hear is about you. None of that matters any more.

Throughout this semester, what will determine your experience with remote learning is not the poor Zoom connections, the amount of homework you get, or the lack of social interaction; it will be your outlook and attitude on the whole situation that will carry you through.