During a time with so much uncertainty, it is easy to focus on the negative aspects of student life and school during COVID-19. However, it is essential to think about the positive aspects of hybrid learning and to become more flexible when it comes to Blake’s learning plan and the divisions it creates between students. This separation created by the hybrid plan acts as a metaphorical divider in the cafeteria, and we all need to come together to get around it.

     Think of this all like our new lunch protocols. Before sitting down, it seems like lunch will be the same as it was before Coronavirus because the dividers are clear, allowing you to still see your classmates. However, as you approach the table, you notice the plastic physically divides you and your classmates, preventing the same interactions at lunch that used to occur. Similarly, once we implemented the hybrid plan, the “clarity” of the dividers didn’t make a difference because our classes are divided in half and the way of learning is completely different than it was originally.

      When you sit down, you find that despite being able to see your classmates, you can’t hear them, and when you speak louder to try to bridge the divide, the sound bounces back at you and your efforts are futile. Our Coronavirus hybrid learning plan is like one of these dividers. 

     The plan looks better from far away, but once you are in the moment and actually dealing with implementing the plan and accommodating for every student with one plan, you see the divide created by the plan, similar to how students are unable to see all their classmates, teach themselves material, and finish all their work, all on their own. Despite these challenges and the physical barrier present between students in the cafeteria, when students try to shout over the dividers, they are not heard and their voices only contribute to the loud noise present in the cafeteria, making it harder for everyone to move forward.

      Instead, we should all come together to figure out what our shared issues are with this plan and work with the administration to find a better solution, similar to how we all need to find different ways of communicating with each other to be able to hear around the dividers and make the “cafeteria” as normal as possible.