By McRae Walker, Opinions Editor

March 13 of last year was “a day that will live in infamy” for many people. The first cry of seriousness over an otherwise shirked virus. It was also the day that students were released from school for “a couple months.”

Terror is the emotion that was met that day, and though that might be an exaggeration for some, it is remarkably true for myself. Dependency built on routine had been a part of life since we could start making our own choices, mostly due to schooling, and now that was about to leave us.

For most of our remembered lives, school has been the driving force and purpose in our lives. It is what we are judged on and houses many of the extracurriculars that took up much of our time. Without this structure, terrible freedom was at hand, leaving little sense of time and no sense of purpose for many.

The timeframe following the initial elation left many emotionally unfulfilled, and this was made more abundant when the replacement for school was so different. 

Online school is not an adequate learning replacement in most instances. Staff and students needed time to adjust, and we simply didn’t have it during this sudden outbreak. 

Before the pandemic, students were encouraged to adhere to a schedule even at the risk of their physical health, attending classes while ill. This line of reasoning can be proven by positive reinforcement with test exemptions, and negative reinforcement with makeup work. That being said, a number of revelations rocked the student community during this time, as we were exposed to a more fluid schedule. 

During the pandemic, time was much more abundant with this next adjustment. School for some ended in a mere four hours, and that’s assuming all of the work wasn’t split up or put off. The days were long and this new sense of free time promoted indulgence in new hobbies and experiences. 

Independence also became a more desirable trait, as before it was better to conform to an authority figure, but now in some strange way we were that figure. No one could enforce our work ethic but ourselves. This period of adjustment saw challenges that many of us had not faced, and it showed. That being said, this in itself was a terrific learning experience. 

We are all presumably heading into the real world at some point in time, whether that is within the confines of our island or the planet at large. School under normal circumstances serves to give us a broad overview of what we’ll need for additional schooling, but gives us very little about the necessity of independence. 

The year without school may have inhibited our ability to learn the curriculum, but it enhanced our process for the future, and I am personally thankful. This is the hardest lesson I could’ve learned, and it was taught just in the nick of time. College would’ve been a worse teacher.

Senior McRae Walker can be reached at 21walkermc92@daretolearn.org.