Student attendance down for virtual learning

According to the TEA website virtual learning caused student enrollment and attendance to drop by more than 150,000 students statewide between January 2019 and 2021.   

“I find the zoom meetings very un-eventful and long lasting,” senior Bobby Hernandez said. “Even when I show up to the zoom meetings, it’s the same as not showing up to them.” 

Students like freshman Jacob Hernandez have a similar aspect to the zoom meetings like Bobby Hernandez. 

“The meetings are not very mind stimulating,” Jacob said. “They seem endless and repetitive. 

Teachers like Nancy Brown have a different side of the story but some of her opinions are just like the students. 

“Zoom meetings are good for some things but not for all day teaching,” Brown said. “Zoom meetings are necessary because students have to learn.” 

In another teacher’s point of view, coach Ricardo Ramirez thinks zoom meetings are essential and everyone should show up. 

“It’s not like face-to-face instruction but more students have been showing up to it lately, Ramirez said. “I think students haven’t been showing up to class because it is not close to how it used to be.” 

According to the website Fearless Presentations, to make the zoom meetings more interesting and interactive teachers should try to make conversations with students. Occasionally, have an educational game like kahoot to make students engage and participate. The website  also recommends that teachers create breakout rooms so students could interact with their classmates and help one another. 

“When I go to school I look forward to interaction,” senior Jesus Galindo said. “I also look forward to getting to learn from teachers.