As a senior that attends Kalamazoo Central Highschool, It is generally agreed upon that we all have a right to a proper, and quality education. These standards are not being met with online classes as every single day, students struggle to find a reason to even get out of bed, as they have nothing to look forward to as the sun rises for the next day. To put it frankly, attending school over the internet is a burden to the quality of education that we receive. All we ask is for a hybrid decision to be implemented optionally for students and parents that feel comfortable with taking classes in person.

It is damning to our mental health to stare at a screen for 6 hours straight as we see our years of adolescence fade away from us like dust in the wind. It is agonizing to stare at my screen only to see the disheartened eyes of my peers staring right back at me with no motivation to learn. Learning online is exhausting, and it is agonizing for all of us since we oftentimes find ourselves studying more than usual on our own time. And all in all, we need to fulfill our own aspirations as young adults, and online school is keeping many of us from reaching our dreams and meeting the goals that we once had planned, which feels like it's been an eternity. 11 months to be exact or approximately a 1/17th out of my life has been wasted away. It feels even crazier when I just think about it.

There are already many disparities between Kalamazoo Public Schools and other neighboring school districts, and remaining virtual will only increase those disparities. Our footing was never equal with our neighboring districts, but the decision to remain virtual will only create a larger disparity in education between us and our neighboring school districts. It is absurd that this was never considered. We are settling for mediocrity once again, and we are making decisions, based on what is difficult, as opposed to doing what is right. Sheltering us away from reality is not an effective way of educating us and letting us learn. Many other school districts are learning how to thrive under these circumstances, something that we find ourselves completely unable to do. How are we expected to survive in the real world, when we don't even have the option or opportunity to confront complicated matters like these? Other schools get the right to quality education, but we don't? It's odd how now that the CDC states that it is safe to go back to school in person is safe, as long as we take the proper precautions. https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/schools.html