The past year has been hectic, to say the least, yet many new experiences have come of it. Some of those experiences haven’t been in person, or, rather, on a virtual conferencing service, such as Google Meet or Zoom. Thousands of high schools nationwide have used these services during “online school” due to Covid-19. These services can have some not-so-fun technical difficulties which can make students, or teachers for that matter, appear out of place in a normal school environment. By now, most people have seen something that would be out of place in school, and St. Louis High School is no exception.

St. Louis school district has switched to remote learning several times this year to prevent a Covid-19 outbreak. Now, nearing the end of the school year, it is fun to look back at funny and even awkward moments on camera. For instance, several students have been in Google Meets where the teacher didn’t know they were there and so the students would overhear things by accident or even distractions during class calls by pets, family members, or even the call itself.

A good example of an awkward Google meet moment this year is provided by a student who is in Mr. Burleson’s Civics and Economics class. This student also wishes to remain anonymous. They state, “One time — well actually a few times — while our class was on a Google Meet Mr. Burleson’s daughter came up and asked him for something. He didn’t even turn his mic[microphone] off. He told her to go play very nicely and then proceeded with his lecture. Everyone in the class thought it was funny and super awkward.”

Conner Daniels, a student in the class of 2022, remembered when the high school was doing online learning and another student, Craig Bebow, wore a banana costume during a Google meet in Ms. Everitt’s Algebra 2 class. He shared, “I couldn’t see anyone’s reaction, but I thought it was incredibly funny. People still talk about it to this day.”

While Google Meet and Zoom have caused some entertaining moments, they’ve also led to good conversations. Jacie Burnham shared, “In Spanish class, I would always talk after class with Ms. Kisser and some other students about anything that came to mind. One time, I talked about my Christmas tree with all the Disney ornaments my grandma collected. Another time I talked about my dogs. Ms. Kisser’s reaction to all my different stories was like she went with it and listened. The other students loved it. They laughed and even talked about their Christmas trees.” 

Ms. Kisser was very amused and enthusiastic when talking to Burnham about her random topics. She added, “While all students were virtual in the fall, I worked in my classroom so that I could focus. Being in an empty classroom was sad and boring. I missed having students in the building. While Jacie’s Christmas tour of her house was clearly off topic from our class material, it was fun to have interactions with students via Google meet. It was also an experience that I would not have had in a normal year; I don’t usually get to see students’ homes and their Christmas traditions.”