Being in a Classroom during Fall Semester 2020

     I will say it again and again, "this semester is like no other". The University of Kentucky opened its doors for the Fall 2020 semester with a lot of new and unexpected changes. Classes are either fully online, hybrid, or in-person.  I consider myself one of the lucky ones because I get to have an in-person class. Most might disagree with me because they get to stay at home and do all their work, but I think by having in-person classes I get a little taste of normalcy. I thought I was getting a glimpse of pre-COVID times but unfortunately, the classroom setting has also changed.

    My Spanish 310 class is in McVey Hall. The classroom is huge but only 20 people can be in there at a time to properly social distance. We must have masks on at all times during class. Having a mask on at all times is equivalent to having a distraction in class in my opinion. Our desks are all spread out which means not many conversations are happening either. I honestly feel slightly awkward being in a classroom. All of our worksheets have to be completed on computers because we are not allowed to turn in physical things to limit human contact. The instructor also stands behind plexiglass which is something I am not used to and I will never get used to it. We don't really do any group work because again the goal is to social distance and that doesn't work well with group work.

    As you can understand from the picture that I tried painting, in-person classes are not the same at all. I rather stay at home, to be honest. This semester is truly like no other and the thing is will this ever go back to normal. I honestly am afraid to say this but I think not.

This is what the front of my classroom in McVey Hall looked like.

    

My classmates and their masks!