EDUCATION
Back At School
their earbuds up their hijabs and watching Netflix in the classroom with the chill teacher, or even buying themselves their next Amazon purchase from the comfort of the chemistry lab. A student offers her perspective in CovidAside from those activities, laptops have become extremely useful for classes in which teachers ask students to fact-check or that are era schooling lecture-based with teachers speaking faster than I can write. I take digital notes for every class now, except for Arabic and math. We BY HIBA KHAN submit almost all our classwork and homework online, so it makes studying a whole lot easier. t felt like I had never left. My first year in high school was Something I really missed about in-person school was the clubs and online last year, and surprisingly it organizations. Last year I joined the wasn’t as bad as you’d think it would be. Except for midterms and finals, we Mock Trial team, and online meetings were cruising. It was an easy routine to were not the greatest. This year, we split our meetings up during the week with a fall back on. Home-cooked meals during English class and fuzzy pajamas below combination of Zoom and gatherings in webcams were more than enough for one of the classrooms after school. The me to feel comfortable. variety keeps us engaged, and it’s so much And then they announced that we easier to bounce ideas off each other. Soccer was another aspect. My team were going back in person, full-time, for hasn’t been playing in our regular league the 2021-22 school year. Classmates and this year, but some of my teammates and friends celebrated our return, but my first feeling was something else: fear. I enjoy messing around with a ball during DID YOU HEAR THAT I’ve always been afraid of a lot of gym class and reminiscing on that last things — fire, heights, scary stories and, soccer practice the day before school shut SO-AND-SO TESTED POSITIVE?” at one point, even squirrels. But now my down in 2020. The boys’ team managed CONSISTENTLY BECAME THE FIRST biggest fear is bringing Covid home or an undefeated season in the fall, and THING I HEARD EVERY DAY … unknowingly spreading it to fellow stucheering them on in the worst weather dents and teachers. Causing people to get UNTIL ONE DAY, THEY SENT US AN felt like everything high school should be. sick without realizing it. I used different But remember that fear? It came back. EMAIL SAYING THAT WE MIGHT methods to deal with my former fears. For After a few months of in-person example, for natural disasters and storms school, cases started popping up. Most HAVE BEEN EXPOSED BY A PEER I would watch the weather channel to of them were in elementary school, but I learn how to be prepared for the worst. WHO TESTED POSITIVE. THEY SAID had teachers, classmates and fellow club So, that became my philosophy for members who had children and siblings WE COULD RETURN TO SCHOOL fears: preparation and prevention. in the classes that were sent home to WITHOUT HESITATION, AND WE When school started, they assured quarantine. It didn’t make any sense to us that we would be safe and that preme why we still passed by one another WERE RECOMMENDED TO cautionary measures would ensure a in classes and hallways. GET TESTED. “Did you hear that so-and-so tested minimal spread of the virus. I fell back positive?” consistently became the first on preparation and prevention: extra thing I heard every day … until one day, masks and hand sanitizer in my bag, double-masking at school and regularly disinfecting my belongings. they sent us an email saying that we might have been exposed by a They told us to wear masks, use hand sanitizer and wash our peer who had tested positive. They said we could return to school hands often. But nobody really cared. Half the class wore their without hesitation, and we were recommended to get tested. I panicked. I requested to participate in school via Zoom until masks below their noses, and sometimes so would the teachers. “I just can’t breathe, it’s so hot in here,” they’d say, before dropping I had my own test done to limit the possible spread. My request the strings of their masks behind their ears. “It’s just so annoying was rejected. to wear these, isn’t it?” And now they’re requiring tests before we return from winter The hallways were even worse. Every class would pile on up next to break. To give us enough time to get tested, our first week back at each other, removing any breathing room left between the classrooms. school is online. I dreaded going to my locker, because I knew people would crowd Ironically enough, we laughed when we found out. One week around one another and act as if it were early 2020 again. online, or another two years? We were told to take all of our books Since being online last year opened plenty of resources for us to home, “just in case.” use, we are now allowed to bring our laptops into school or borrow Preparation and prevention. It all came back to fear. Fear of high one. This usually leads to texting during classes and teachers calling school and fear of the virus. Fear of the future. Fear of the unknown. ih out students for laughing at their screens in the middle of a math Hiba Khan is a high school sophomore from New Jersey. She enjoys reading, playing sports, and pracproblem. During lunch, female students don’t shy away from sticking ticing piano.
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ISLAMIC HORIZONS MARCH/APRIL 2022
