By Anton Dedvukaj
Well, after about 13 months, I think we can safely call it. The age of distance learning, at least here at Irvington, may be behind us. We went back to five-day, in-person classes — no more cohorts — on April 12, and things seem to be going smoothly, save for the backlash against the new desk barriers.
With that being said, the pandemic is, unfortunately, still here. Otherwise, we’d be maskless and not having to worry about social distancing guidelines. And this makes me wonder, how much longer until that’s gone? And, in fact, what if that’s not for a while? What if we have to go back to quarantine?
I’ve said before that our administration is taking a big risk with the reopening of school. It’s a risk worth taking, I’d argue, but a risk nonetheless. And I’d also argue that, in terms of quarantine, that might be behind us, provided we all actually know what we’re doing, and that we can have a mostly normal school year next year. Sure, there are those who are remaining 100% remote right now, but I’d argue that this might also be finished soon too.
The main takeaway from my first week back is that the end is in sight. Seeing everyone again was fun, and I’m confident that, before we know it, the dreaded masks and desk barriers will be behind us. The pandemic is still here, so we still have to work to make this a reality, but the way things are going, provided the administrators and students are careful, we should be able to finish things up sooner rather than later.
