PLAINS, Pa. — School has been back in session all over northeastern and central Pennsylvania for weeks now. Students are learning from home, heading back into buildings, and a combination of those two called hybrid schooling.
Tracey Gruden of Plains Township has her three boys in three different Wilkes-Barre Area school buildings. She loves that they are learning in-person.
“The only difference for them obviously is the difference in how things are being run like the precautions and things like that and wearing masks and that kind of thing, but I just find that to be a huge blessing. I do work, I work full-time and honestly, I think having the three of them here and having issues like that would be my worst nightmare.”
Another mother, Jamie Gum of Orangeville, decided on remote learning from home for her daughter, who recently had major surgery.
“To be honest, she does better at home doing it by herself than she does in school because she does not get distracted.”
But not everyone is enjoying learning from home. Another mom in Pittston Area said it’s been difficult for her kids, especially her 10-year old son.
“He absolutely hates it, he hates it, he dreads logging in in the morning. Monday, it was just an absolute meltdown. He just can’t concentrate. Unfortunately, they’re just not getting anything out of it this year," said Margaret Drouse of Avoca.
Those families said they know different things work for different students, and while they wish things were normal again, they, of course, understand why things had to change.