An Okotoks graduand is proud to share his unpopular opinion when it comes to online learning.
“I think it’s harder for the teachers in online school than the students,” said Sawyer Quinlan, who is graduating from Holy Trinity Academy this month.
He said students have it “pretty easy,” because in many cases they’re not expected to have their cameras on, and could be distracted while attending class, so long as the work is done when it is due.
“For the teacher, they put together this elaborate lesson plan and then they present it to the students they’re just looking at a screen of blank icons and not getting any response back,” said Quinlan. “They’re putting a lot of effort into it and it’s just not coming back to them.
“I feel it’s been way harder this year for the teachers than the students, and I know that’s not a generally accepted mindset on the situation.”
Quinlan spent about one week isolating at home outside of provincially-mandated shutdowns and said it was easier to stomach learning from home when his friends and classmates were online as well.
Though he is a good student, currently sitting at a perfect score in calculus and averages of 85 per cent or higher in every class, learning online proved difficult for Quinlan.
“There wasn’t as much retention of the subject matter,” he said.
In the classroom, with books on the desk and phone time limited, there are fewer distractions and more focus on the teacher, he said.
“At home, you can fully get by just by just listening occasionally, but it comes in one ear, you do the work, and it goes out the other ear and that’s all you need to do,” said Quinlan. “For me personally, I find in school is much better just because I internalize everything I get taught.”
He missed some of the extracurricular activities in his graduating year.
Quinlan had been one of HTA’s starting running backs on the football team that took the provincial title in 2019, but this year the team only managed a few practices and exhibition games in the fall and its spring session was cancelled.
He was also a member of the concert and jazz bands at HTA, and missed the fun and fellowship of festival trips this year.
“A lot of my favourite moments from high school have come from trips with extracurriculars,” said Quinlan.
The one that sticks out was the Vic Lewis Band Festival in Canmore, which he attended in the fall of 2019 as a Grade 11 student.
Quinlan plays the saxophone and said he enjoyed being part of the jazz ensemble through high school, where he felt an emotional connection to the music. It was also about the other band members.
“You’re playing with people you genuinely love,” said Quinlan. “In a graduating class of 250 kids you kind of know of all of them but you’re not friends with all of them, per se.
“But when you go to Canmore with a 25-person band that you’ve been with since Grade 7, you’re very close with all of them.”
Opportunities to travel to festivals or to football provincials added to the high school experience, he said.
Outside his time at HTA, Quinlan spent a lot of time on the ski hill and mountain biking, enjoying time in the mountains with solo sports activities.
It’s led him toward his future career, which he intends to explore after taking a year to work at one of his favourite hills – Whitewater Ski Resort in Nelson, B.C.
“I love the ski culture and I’ve been raised in it, I’ve been skiing since I was three and my dad is a very avid skier,” said Quinlan.
After spending the winter at the slopes, he plans to attend university in fall 2022 to pursue a career that fits his communion with nature.
“I have a lot of spiritual attachment to nature,” said Quinlan. “Something in the field of environmental studies would be fantastic, or maybe spiritual healing.”
No matter what he chooses, he said HTA has set him up for success with a range of opportunities and responsibilities.
High school teachers treated students like adults, with expectations on behaviour and getting work done on-time. There was no hand-holding or condescension, which Quinlan said was “pretty fantastic.”
Overall, he said HTA has made an impact as he prepares to cross the stage.
“This school has shaped me and been influential in good ways and bad ways, for the way I perceive life and how I’m going to go about my future,” said Quinlan. “Everybody says it’s the best years of your life, and I think it’s some of the best years of my life.
“But there’s definitely way more to be held in the future, and I’m ready for that.”
