Editor’s Note: The following opinion was written by a TAHS student. The student who wrote it asked for it to be published anonymously because, in the student’s words, “I have seen the way people have been going at each other on social media over this dispute and I don’t want to be in the middle of it all because some of my friends are strongly against hybrid and others are not.”  While we do not usually publish anonymous opinions or letters, we have decided to make an exception in this case. We welcome opposing (or concurring) points of view from other students.

For many students at Tyrone High School, hybrid learning is a safe way to get their education.

For two to three days each week, students come into classrooms ready to learn. These classes have only half the number of students as a regular school day. This is an easy way for students to maintain social distance at school during a global pandemic.

The school board wants to take away hybrid learning and bring all students back five days a week because some students are struggling to get their work complete. Many students, myself included, would not like to see this.

From the time we started with the hybrid schedule, I have learned far more than I did last year when we were in school full time. I have more individualized time to get my work completed and more time to study for my tests. My teachers give online assignments that I can easily complete in the time allotted, and then I have twice as much time to study for my future tests. I come back to school every Monday feeling like I have accomplished so much during my five-day “weekend.”

On top of having more time for schoolwork, I also have more time to work on other important things, like my mental health. Having some school from home relieves a lot of the stress that five days a week of school carries. I do not feel like I am rushed to get my homework done as fast as possible. I can sit down and do my homework while truly thinking about the content that is being given to me.

Before I would just copy the answers from my notes without genuinely thinking about what the homework was asking of me. The homework assignments are helping me learn, which in turn is helping me feel more confident in my abilities when tests come around. I am no longer stressed every single night wondering if I will get all my homework done on time or if I will pass my history test the next day.

One student in the Tyrone Area High School also agrees. “My grades have never been this good and I have never felt so accomplished. The hybrid schedule has overall been a great experience and I would like to keep it,” said one student.

Not only am I getting all my work done on time and learning more, but I also have more time to sleep each night. Before hybrid learning, I would stay up doing homework late into the evenings. Sometimes the workload became so bad I would do homework until midnight. Then I would get up at 5:45 for school. Overall, I would get just under six hours of sleep each night and would be expected to focus for eight periods and pass tests.

Harvard Health has said that chronic sleep deprivation increases the risk of developing mental illnesses such as depression and bipolar depression. The average teenager is supposed to get eight to ten hours of sleep each night. This goes to prove that hybrid learning is beneficial because I can sleep in a little later than usual on my hybrid days.

Also, I don’t have to go to bed as late because I am able to get my work done by eight o’clock at the latest each night. This does not mean my workload is getting easier, it just means that I have more free time now to do my schoolwork during the day.

Hybrid learning is also very beneficial because it gives us more time to work one-on-one with our teachers. Most of my classes are less than ten students. This helps not only with social distancing but also with getting more help from the teachers.

All my teachers are amazing now that there are only a small number of students in each class. They have time to ask every one of us if we have questions, explain the answer, and still answer every student’s questions before the period is over.

I feel like I can build better relationships with my teachers because of the small classes. They don’t have to worry about the classroom being too loud or distracting because there are so few students in my classes.

“I have really gotten ahead in my learning when I am one on one with my teachers. I feel like if we head back to full in person, I will not be able to ask all of my questions or actually talk with my teacher,” says one Tyrone student.

The school also has a policy that requires all students and staff to wear masks during the school day. However, we also are allowed to have 10-minute “mask breaks” each period as long as we maintain social distancing requirements.

If we were to bring back all students five days of the week, our classrooms would again be crowded in with groups of up to thirty students or more. There would be no room for social distancing. Mask breaks would probably not be permitted, but even if they were allowed, it would not be safe because we would all be too close in contact with one another.

Masks are meant to protect us from each other, but they can also cause harm if they are worn too long. Scientists have found wearing masks too long can lead to dry eyes, carbon monoxide poisoning, and even teeth can be affected. When the masks are left on for long periods of time, people tend to breathe through their mouths, and this causes your mouth to become very dry. The dryness propagates bacteria and viruses in our mouths which can lead to long-term effects like cavities.

“If we go back to full in person but later get shut down to full cyber again, there is no way I will be able to deal with it. The hybrid schedule is our best option,” one Tyrone student said.