Here’s to the graduating class of 2023. Unlike any other senior class in history, their four-year high school journey has been a roller coaster.
Starting in their freshman year, chaos has overruled routine. In March 2020, schools closed “for two weeks” until COVID-19 could run its course. Remember? We were told “it will disappear,” and the nation would reopen by Easter (April 12, 2020). We know how that turned out.
Going into their sophomore year in the fall of 2020, most schools cautiously reopened, with a mix of in-person and remote learning. Still, many sporting events and social gatherings were canceled, and while masks may have prevented some health problems, they also concealed a lot of smiles.
In the summer of 2021, great optimism returned. These rising high school juniors were starting to get their lives back. Stores and restaurants reopened, in-person entertainment and athletic events were returning, and everyone was determined to have a normal school year.
But within months, the Delta variant of COVID put a stop to that, soon to be followed by the Omicron variant. Masks off, masks back on. Vaccinations helped us ease back into some semblance of pre-pandemic life, but schools reverted to caution mode.
Gradually during the current school year, the seniors who had endured three years of stop-and-start learning have finally been able to enjoy the full high school experience. The camaraderie, the games, dances, and field trips. Actually getting to know their formerly masked teachers. Being able to get within six feet of one another. Building friendships that can last a lifetime.
I’ve interviewed some members of the Class of 2023 recently, and it’s been interesting to get their perspective. They are not bitter. 17-year-olds seem to adapt better than those of us who are set in our ways. We get crabby because the drive-thru line is longer for our morning biscuit and coffee. Teens just took the inconveniences of remote learning and made the best of it.
I am especially impressed with their comments about teachers, who are among the unsung heroes of the pandemic. Unlike your average teen, most teachers did not grow up with a computer mouse in one hand, and an iPhone in the other. Teachers have long specialized in face to face, hands-on learning. Subjects like chemistry and biology almost demand the in-person style of teaching. Vocational classes are challenging enough to teach on site. Imagine trying to do so on Zoom.
My young friends in the Class of 2023 are quick to praise teachers who went above and beyond, using the pandemic not as an excuse for failure, but an opportunity to teach in a new way. It did not go unnoticed.
I have talked to several athletes, many of whom were vying for scholarships. Non-contact sports like golf and tennis were relatively untouched by COVID health protocols. However, football and basketball required some creativity from coaches, players, and cheerleaders, and the games themselves were closely monitored. As for wrestling, the ultimate contact sport, one senior told me, “We spent more time mopping floors and scrubbing mats than on anything else. I know it made the coaches’ jobs much harder, but that was the only way our season would go on.”
Theater isn’t a contact sport, but students in drama and music classes also missed out on the normal high school experience. There aren’t many plays, especially musicals, in which cast members are far apart from each other. Promising young actors, singers and dancers had waited all their lives for the spring play, their one chance to be in the spotlight, and possibly earn a scholarship. Those magical evenings were also among the casualties of the pandemic.
There is a silver lining here. Like it or not, our COVID experience changed the world. We had to learn new ways to work, to do business, and to protect ourselves. And there is more than a slight chance we’ll have to cope with something similar in the future. The Class of 2023 taught us to be patient, be flexible, and rise to the occasion. They stood firm, and won the battle. I will cheer loudly for them when they get their diploma.
