Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, academic institutions in Kern County remains a virtual learning environment for the fall 2020 semester. Remote learning has been affecting students since the middle of the Spring term and keep affecting them through this fall semester 2020.
According to the Kern County Public Health Services Department, as of Aug. 25, Kern County has reached 28,854 cases of COVID-19. Health officials are concerned that this number will grow to a higher rate if steps are not taken to slow the spread, therefore Kern County opted to keep the remote learning system for most schools.
Although remote learning has allowed more students to keep a balance between studies and work, there are some BC students think that virtual learning is not better than in-person learning.
“This new form of learning is very stressful for me,” said BC student, Amy Melton. She explained that she would prefer learning face-to-face because it is hard to work on this virtual schedule and she also prefers to work in class with people around to talk to.
She is not the only person that struggled with the lack of structure in the remote learning model.
BC student, Jacob Amado contends that the biggest problem on remote learning is that ‘’you get too comfortable at home which makes you lose focus and procrastinate.’’
However, he also said that working from home is one of the things he likes the most about it.
Some students do not feel odd about remote learning since they are already used to it. BC’s Veronica Prior is also from the Santa Barbara City College whose degree program is mostly online. Although she is used to a remote learning environment, she hoped to get into an in-person class this semester.
Most of the students agree that remote learning was easier to work from home. However, some also believe that the work from home schedules can lead to losing focus on school.