Logging on to computers every day for students and teachers can be exhausting. It can be confusing and, at times, hard for students who actually need to be in a classroom to carry out their activities in person.
Despite letting virtual learning get in the way, South Tech students are still carrying on with their studies in the fields that interest them. South Tech is a program that provides students with an education that will help them in a certain workforce. Senior Bryde McClure is studying to be a vet assistant and has to log on to Zoom every other day for her South Tech class. She goes through powerpoints and video examples since they can’t practice anything currently. She explained, “I have two teachers for my tech class, so I’m actually learning about first aid and bandaging wounds. In my other class, we are learning about small animal nursing and sanitizing, but it changes weekly.”
At the end of the second semester, she plans on taking an exam to hopefully receive a veterinary assistant certificate allowing her to work in a veterinary hospital with that title.
Another senior, Trey Watson, is studying firefighting and EMT. This class will help him be set up for a good job in the industry in the future. He recalls the most fun thing he has done at South Tech when classes were in person, “The the most thing we’ve done would probably be going into a smoky room with all the lights out and trying to find a dummy that the rest of the class had hidden and bring the dummy back to safety.”
While students are studying online with South Tech, others are taking standard launch classes.
Senior Jay Vandervoort is taking calculus through launch. Taking a launch class is different because none of the teachers are Brentwood staff. Sometimes taking a rigorous math class online can be demanding. He states, “Well online is very difficult, it is like a college environment in the fact that I have to teach myself the majority of the material.”
Senior Caroline Gombas is taking a launch class as well, but instead, she is taking Health. She explains, “For my class, we have lots of discussion questions and little worksheets over health topics.”
Despite choosing a different approach to learning, Brentwood’s South Tech and Launch students are pushing forward with their studies. Keep up the good work!
