News
April 22, 2020Students and Teachers Agree: You Don’t Know How Much You Like School and Work Until You Can’t Go To It
Students love to complain about school while teachers and school staff – like nearly all workers – often dream of retirement or the day they don’t have to report to school.
Then, seemingly it is all taken away. School is moved online. Students must email questions to their teachers who are nestled in their own homes. Gone is in-person, hands-on learning. Gone is lectures from the front of a classroom. Gone is social interaction. And with that, brings the sudden realization of just how important school is for faculty, staff and yes, even students.
That is the case with those who teach and learn at 
Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical School. Through a series of email interviews and surveys, a common, shared theme emerged – students, faculty and staff miss the learning and interaction that takes place at the Albany, Schoharie and Mohonasen campuses.
“Online school is going well, however, I do miss being in the classroom environment, seeing my teachers and my friends. A lesson I learned from this whole experience is that you don’t realize how much something means to you until it’s not there,” said Savannah Marx, a cosmetology student from Cohoes said.
“It’s going good but I wish I was in school doing it,” added Christian Decker, a welding, student from Schenectady.
“I would much rather be in school doing labs, and just being in the classroom. I miss being around my friends and teachers,” said Ryan Leonard, an electrical trades student from Ravena-Coeymans-Selkirk.
More than 1,100 Capital Region BOCES Career and Technical School students from across the Capital Region and beyond transitioned to online learning in mid-March when the COVID19 pandemic forced schools to close across the United States.
Like most schools, distance learning was a new venture and neither the students, nor the teachers knew exactly how it would go or how they would react. The teachers also weren’t prepared for how much they would miss the students
“Most of our students would much rather be in their classrooms. Many have told me they miss our school. I really miss them and our old routine. I loved it,” said Jeff Hayes, teacher, Electrical Trades.
“Keeping in touch with some of the students by text is not the same as them coming to see me at my desk. Students that complained every day they didn’t want to be there, are now saying how much they miss school and their friends,” added Ken Bevan, integrated English teacher.
Andrea Rea, a teaching assistant in the construction program, was more blunt about the situation.
“I miss my job, the interaction with the students and my co-workers,” she said.
