I recently asked Brother Aiden Williams a few questions regarding his virtual education. His responses are not only enlightening, but I found them heartbreaking. Let us continue to pray for our young people who are learning in new and unusual environments. Thankfully, we have hope that no matter the challenge, our God is able to cover and keep them so that they may succeed in all that they do.
Pastor Pruitte: What are your virtual school hours? What were they before we moved to virtual?
Brother Aiden Williams: My school hours are from 10:00am-3:00pm. Before the pandemic and before I was in junior high school, my days were really long because I went to SACC before and after school. I would be at school by 6:00am and would leave at 5:00pm, but my classes would start at 9:00am and end at 3:00pm.
PP: What classes do you have?
AW: I have Math, World Language, Changemakers, Science, STEM, Gym and English.
PP: How do you interact with your friends and classmates?
AW: I don’t; the only time I have a chance to interact with my classmates is during my science class when my teacher lets us have 5-10 minutes to turn on our cameras and mics to talk with each other. Sometimes kids try to interact by making random comments in the chat, but that’s not really allowed.
PP: What do you do if you have a question during class? What do you do when you have a question about your homework?
AW: If I have a question during class, I have to enter a “!” or “?” in the chat to get the teacher’s attention. Our teachers said it’s just like regular school – no blurting out your questions. If I have a question about my homework, I just ask my Tutu [Grandmother].
PP: What do you dislike about virtual school?
AW: I don’t like that we’re not together. I don’t like that we can’t keep our cameras on so that we can at least see each other. And I don’t like that everything seems rushed and that it seems like we have to do a lot of the learning on our own by watching videos.
PP: What do you like about virtual school?
AS: Nothing, honestly. At the beginning of the year, I asked if we could keep our mics and cameras on during lunch so we could have lunch with classmates, but I was told we couldn’t. Virtual school is really lonely.
PP: What do you miss most about going to school physically?
AW: I miss having recess and the ability to interact with classmates and make some friends. I also miss the chance to sign up for sports.