Not only has COVID-19 changed how education is taught, but it is changing the quality of education that students are receiving.

Through the last two years COVID-19 has changed the world that everyone is familiar with. This is not only including the healthcare system, shopping, restaurants, or the economic change.

Education has taken a hit, not only with the change to online and hybrid learning, but adding masks and cleaning schedules, limiting classrooms, and social distancing has made it harder for students to intake and comprehend the same level of education than they did before the pandemic.

Washington state regulations have changed many times during the pandemic, but over the last two years each school district have taken control of their regulations. So, some schools have different regulations than others.

For some students and teachers this new system has been beneficial.

“The mandated shutdown and hybrid schedules of the last two years have caused many changes both in how we teach and how students access learning,” Sara Ray, teacher with Cheney school district said. “In some ways it has improved how we present information to the students.”

Many of these benefits are technologically based. Due to the new system, everything is available online for students to always access, making it easier for students who need to review or double check on assignments and stay on track.

It has created the bridge between school and home stronger, allowing for better communication from teacher and student in hybrid classes.

“Some students found that they learn much better in a distance platform,” Ray said. They don’t get distracted by other students, they don’t get tempted to be off task, they are more comfortable and self-assured in their home environment, and they can work more at their own pace whether that is faster or slower than the other students.”

However other students have found that it is the worst way to learn.

“They do not do well if they are not in a school environment,” Ray said. “They need the community of a classroom and personal interaction with the teachers to fully understand the information being presented.”

While many people think that the hybrid schedules and online learning has been beneficial to students learning others felt that education has taken a back burner to health.

“Covid has changed my education by making me more focused on safety in the classroom than what I’m supposed to be learning,” Jasper Willson, Washington State University student said.

With the focus on health instead of education, many students have felt that they are behind in their education and life experiences. Many of them being freshman in High school and College this coming year. They have experience coming of age in quarantine, taking their focus away from education even more.

“They didn’t learn a lot of the developmental lessons that occur during a time in their life where they are personally going through many changes,” Ray said. “They had to relearn how to work in a classroom and follow school rules.”

The pandemic has been a big shift for students and teachers, but many school districts have pulled together and tried to make the best environments for education. Unfortunately, it is based on each students learning experience on whether it was successful.