The Way We See It

OPI NION

Masks muffle class communication

Ariel Hunter staff writer

Wearing a mask can make it hard for students and teachers to communicate with each other — whether it be, talking, teaching, or helping a student out.

Social distancing can be hard especially if a student wants to talk to their friend, but they cannot because they have to socially distance if they do not wear a mask. Some people talk quietly in general, and with a mask on, it makes it more difficult to understand and hear them.

During class when students can talk quietly, it is really hard to hear others. Friends and classmates cannot hear each other, which makes it really hard to communicate, especially during group activities.

Wearing a mask can be distracting when a student’s mask does not fit properly or if the student has asthma or any other health problems.

Many students in classes sit six feet apart at one table, so students have to project their voices when working together in groups. Then, when every student projects, it makes the classroom noisy, making hearing one another more difficult than before without the masks.

Photo by: Isabela Diaz

Can you hear me now?: Students, like Kaidan Whittaker (11) and David Gaffney (11) pictured above, must wear masks as they walk the halls and sit in classes, if they cannot be socially and physically distanced at least six feet. When wearing masks, communication becomes muffled, making classes, such as Spanish and French, harder to hear and understand and group or partner projects difficult as every student tries to raise their volume to be heard through their mask.

Sports should halt until approved vaccine released

Hailey Christoff staff writer

With sports occurring this fall, many students and parents speculate on whether they should permit athletes to participate in seasonal sports. As of Sept. 14, the state of Indiana has reached more than 109,000 cases, with only 736 deaths confirmed.

In most sports, a remarkable amount of physical contact occurs. For example, the amount of physical contact in football or the bursts of contact in soccer as players brush up against the other when there is a skirmish for the ball. As for tennis, the home and visiting teams will have to manually touch the scorecards, and they also distribute a pair of tennis balls that will be touched when serving. Cross-country has a large number of athletes packed together before they take off. Volleyball players can barely socially distance each other, only allowing a couple of feet apart while on the court.

The best solution is to only allow non-contact sports, such as golf, to continue with their season. This will decrease the likelihood of a large outbreak within the school, allowing the school to continue in class. As a whole, however, schools should postpone all sports until a vaccine has been tested and approved by the Centers for Disease Control.

THE WAY WE SEE IT Tests should move to open book option

Rachael Mount guest writer

Online learning has made the ability to cheat greater than ever because they do not have any proctors or guidance on exams; therefore, all tests should be made open book to make the situation fair across all students. In class, teachers can walk around and monitor student activity during important exams; however, when students perform online exams, that ability is no longer present. Although teachers should be able to trust their students, cheating is nearly inevitable because they have much more freedom than students in the classroom.

School officials should allow standard classroom students to utilize open book resources on exams. This will allow the system to be equal and fair for both online and in-class students. Teachers should put guidelines on this allowance, such as limiting the time available and making the questions harder for all students: online and in-person.

Guided open book exams will teach students to collaborate and learn to access the right resources. Teachers could make more application questions, so students simply do not restate memorized facts that they see in their notes. For science and math classes, students would receive the formulas needed to answer the question and they would have to apply that and show their work. Students, in-class and online, would learn more from this method of testing than how it works currently.

Universities around the country realize this same issue as institutions cannot obliterate cheating for this year with students attending online and in-person, so they have authorized open book tests for their students. Many schools have tried online software systems to monitor activity on exams but none have proven adequate and students are creating an uprising due to testing anxieties.

We should seek to level the playing field for in-person students. School administrators should consider making the change to open book exams to prepare our students for higher levels of schooling and equip them with testing skills that will last.

NEWS

As COVID-19 cases continue to rise nationwide, places everywhere — including schools — have had to adapt to the guidelines and precautions with temperature checks and a mask mandate for entering the building.

While the temperature checks work to ensure safety, the thermometers can create inaccurate readings depending on the quality of the thermometer and the use of the thermometer in relation to distance from the subject and the temperature of the environment. “The temperatures were inconsistent at best. However, as I have gotten more comfortable with the thermometer, I have more confidence in the readings. I am getting more consistent temperature readings, and

AIMING FOR ACCURACY Fluctuating readings leave students unsure

Abby Doriot co-editor-in-chief Isabela Diaz co-editor-in-chief Deegan Cornelius staff writer

I believe it is largely due to me using the thermometer correctly,” said Adam DePriest, math teacher and morning temperature taker. The Booster staff tested the Simzo thermometer, the thermometer used by the school, and an infrared thermometer model, the YHKY-2000. Both are non-touch thermometers used to keep safe distance.

On the infrared model when a person is too far, the thermometer will not even give a reading. However, on the Simzo model, it will give you a reading regardless of distance. With this being said, many temperature takers try to keep their distance to keep safe for personal health reasons, disregarding the notice of how close one needs to be to get an accurate measurement. The closer the person using the thermometer moves toward the subject, the more accurate the reading becomes.

“The thermal scans sometimes are not really accurate. They’re just an indicator. We use oral to make sure you really have a temperature,” said Karen Anderson, Scott County School District 2 health coordinator and registered nurse at SHS.

The designated temperature takers, who consist of teachers and staff members, received training before the first student day in August, Principal Chris Routt said.

“If [the student] is good, they’re good. If they’re 100.0 degrees or above, what’s the next step? We have a process where you fill out a form that alerts administrators… With contact tracing, the family connection is important, so we have a system set up where it alerts all buildings,” Routt said.

If a student has either a high temperature or an inaccurate temperature, the first step is to test it on a different thermometer. If they still register as high or

Photo by: Isabela Diaz Temperature check: Before entering the building, students, like Ava Lytle (9), above, must have their temperature taken using a non-contact, forehead thermometer. Teachers and staff members use the thermometers to take the readings. Students with a temperature of 100 degrees or higher must go home and follow the Indiana State Health Department guidelines on when to return back to school.

inaccurate, they call the nurse to the scene, Routt said.

Many students have had mixed experiences when it comes to their temperatures in the mornings.

“My temperature has been accurate a majority of the time. However, probably about once a week, they are extremely inaccurate. I have been walking into school before, and they recorded me as high as 115 degrees or as low as 65 degrees,” junior Tierra Combs said.

However, the occasional inaccuracy leaves some wondering if the thermometer checks present as helpful as hoped.

“I have mixed feelings about whether the thermometers are keeping students safe. I definitely think it is an effective way to monitor every student before they come into the building. However, the thermometers have had a record of being inaccurate, and I’m just afraid they will send someone home or not let them into the building because they were recorded as having a fever, when in actuality, they did not,” Combs said.

The outside weather is one factor that plays into the inaccurate readings, and temperature takers have had to start considering this when checking people.

The instruction manual included with the Simzo thermometer details the fluctuating readings and continues on pg. 6 >>>