By Colin Tran, Staff Writer
Turning homes into their very own quarantined classrooms is what Dare County students had to do after the decision was made to start the school year fully online. Each student had to come up with ways to stay organized, stay on top of their work, and find time to take breaks and breathers from school.
During remote learning, students are finding out new things every day about their study habits and work ethic. For example, if they prefer the comfort of their bed or the nice breeze from their front porch.
Senior Stephanie Dudley finds herself working from the comfort of her couch and listening to music to block out surrounding sounds.
“At first I was really motivated to do school work from home, but over time, I lost a little of the motivation,” Dudley explained. “Now I just do my work at my own pace, which I guess is better, because I don’t really feel rushed.”
To help keep herself on track, Dudley said she has to have her phone and airpods nearby.
“I can listen to music while I work, which gets me more energized and focused in a way,” Dudley said.
On the other hand, junior Ella Samson spends her school hours at her art desk, which she has had to transform into a work desk.
“My desk has everything I need at hand, but I use it for both art and school, so it can sometimes be cluttered with art supplies,” Samson said. “I feel as if my study spot makes me more productive because it has everything I need for my classes and little to no distractions.”
To keep herself organized, Samson always has sticky notes and her notebook by her side to keep track of her assignments.
“I write down everything I have to do for the day on them,” Samson said. “It helps me to not get side-tracked.”
While Samson prefers to do assignments in one location, others enjoy a change in scenery to help make remote learning more enjoyable.
“My study spot consists of various places around my house, such as my desk in my room, the kitchen table, the couch in the living room and sometimes my bed,” freshman Lucy Stecher explained.
Stecher enjoys remote learning because she gets to spend time with her dogs, Ginger and Coco, which is her favorite part about being home. Being home also gives Stecher a lot of freedom to go outside, eat snacks and much more.
“I just have more freedom, but all these things can also be bad because I can get distracted and put off my work,” Stecher said. “I have all these other things that I can do, but I have to stay focused on my work.”
While cycling through all her study spots, Stecher always carries her binder with her, which has all her class assignments and to-do lists to keep her organized.
“I write everything down, plan out when I’m going to do it and manage my time so I can do it,” Stecher said.
Still, not all students are completing assignments from their desks, beds, and couches.
“The coolest thing about where I do my school work is I can still make money while also doing what I need to for school,” sophomore JoJo Morgan said.
Morgan’s study spot isn’t like most. He spends his school hours at Norbanks in Duck, where he works. Even though Morgan does not have much of a choice to do his schoolwork anywhere else, he still enjoys being in his work environment – surrounded by boats, wave runners, sail boats and more.
Having to do school at work while surrounded by his favorite hobbies also means many distractions and other responsibilities.
“I often don’t finish things and that means that it has to be done at home during time that I’d like to be doing other things,” Morgan said.
In adapting to online learning, students are learning a lot about themselves and not just their courses.
“I don’t think my study spot helps me be more productive than being at school,” senior Jordan Daniels said. “When I’m at school, I find the motivation to get work done easier since I’m in the right environment, and it’s safer to be online.”
Sophomore Colin Tran can be reached at 23TranCo16@daretolearn.org.
