Guest column by Danielle Russell: Distance learning offers a chance to develop at one’s own pace, but also brings disruptions

Graduation ceremonies, time-honored traditions held in expectant reverence by students and their families, now lie threatened

By Danielle Russell

Danielle Russell

The transition to distance learning has not been easy by any means at Christopher High School and other Gilroy schools. There is undoubtedly no shortage to our learning opportunities, or the lengths to which our teachers will go to provide engaging learning material, and for that, I am eternally grateful. I applaud their dedication and commitment to helping us master the principles necessary to further our education.

This transition was compulsory to slow the spread of the pandemic that now threatens our world and our families, but, as with most tragedies of this nature, it has brought yet another seemingly unsurmountable wave of disruption in our lives.

When the seniors left their classrooms on March 13, they did not know it would be the last time they walked through the halls of the school that consumed so much of their life for four years. They did not know they would never again get to sign their friend’s yearbooks or take pictures with them at lunch. Graduation ceremonies, time-honored traditions held in expectant reverence by students and their families, now lie threatened. The dreams of walking across the stage, a ceremonial declaration of one’s accomplishment, now lay shattered. All around us, students wait in anguish, their rosy-colored views of a final, glorious year of high school slipping through their hands. Yet, they are powerless to stop it.

As a junior at Christopher, I have not lost as much as others. What I did lose were things I did not know I would miss so deeply. I did not think I would miss the simple smiles from my friends, the peal of their unadulterated laughter as we worked on our physics project, or the way we’d wait for each other after school to walk to softball practice together. I did not realize it on that fateful day in March, but it was the last time I will see several of my friends for months. Of course, I can call them, but it does not match the gentle reassurance of their presence.

As a conscientious student with lofty ambitions of attending a prestigious, private college and later earning a doctorate in history, I harbor significant concerns about the impact this will have on college admissions.

I am not concerned by the fact our learning has been shifted to a virtual platform. On the contrary, I have learned more now that I am out of the classroom, capable of working at my own pace, without the distractions previously imposed by the everyday high school experience. With the shortened periods of teacher-led instruction, students have the opportunity to further their development.

While fine in theory, does the new grading system provide the best opportunity for our students to flourish later in their academic careers? There have been many colleges who have declared this transition will not affect the admissions process, but there are others who remain steadfast in the ways of their traditional admissions.

Many students will rely on merit scholarships and tuition reductions based on their academic record to ensure they do not descend into crippling debt after college.

As we settle into this ever-changing world, and distance learning becomes more widespread, I am confident colleges will adapt with the times. In such trying times as these, it is necessary to stay positive. In an attempt to do so, I have revisited my genealogical research, perused the many books lining my shelves, reading perhaps too many of them at one time, and watched almost all of the movies of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

Simple in outlook, these movies are the picture of hope and simplistic elegance, if not a distraction from the turbulent swirl of the world outside my window. I do not know when I will see my friends again, or hear the warmth in their voices in person, or return to the life I once knew, but for now, I have hope, and that’s enough.

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Danielle Russell is a junior at Christopher High School. She wrote this column for Gilroy Life.