Masks and fines
Food for thought: It is required and mandated by law that we use a seat belt whenever we are in a vehicle. It is to protect and save our lives and our loved ones. Not using one can be the result of being killed or killing someone else. Nevertheless, if we are caught without a seat belt, we can be cited, issued a ticket and have to pay a fine.
The use of face masks, in my opinion, should be required by law as a protection for others and yourself. If you are caught without one, you would be subject to a fine.
Some will protest that it is his/her constitutional right not to use a mask. If you were stopped by a police officer for failure to wear a face mask, you must have a good, validated reason why you were not wearing a mask. The police officer would likely comment that it is his/her constitutional right not to wear a mask, but a ticket still would be warranted with a “Have a nice day!”
However, let’s consider if I were stopped by a police officer for not wearing a seat belt, and I stated to the police officer that it is my constitutional right not to wear a seat belt, the police officer would probably agree with me. However, I would, nevertheless, still be subject to a ticket and fine as the police officer would be required to follow the laws presented before him at the time.
At least for now, until this pandemic and situation gets under control, don’t be selfish. I would like to implore everyone to think of the chance that those loved ones next to you may get sick, and that might be the last time you’ll ever see them.
Masks and seat belts do save lives!
W. Lee Loy
Hilo
Online learning
There is now an increase in online learning issues. Maybe it appears that we all love staying home all day from school and relaxing, browsing the internet, and even doing online learning. Well, think again: Online learning has negatively impacted my well-being profoundly.
Because I am home 24/7 in this forsaken COVID-era, I lack motivation on days where I do not feel like logging on to my online classes. The challenges of online learning have reached the point where I feel like I might pass out. This is the future as we know it.
Online learning is like trying to climb a mountain without any gear. Not only is COVID affecting people in our state, online learning is sparking mental health issues around the country. Every time teachers struggle with tech settings, students experience anxiety. These online school difficulties include misgrading assignments and having to deal with tech settings in which teachers are not trained.
This is not to criticize teachers, as they are putting in the effort. However, these errors also cause a lack of motivation among students. Because students do not want to learn online with these new tech settings, there is a divide between us and teachers.
Students receive a huge workload of assignments, which leads to poor mental health. Consequently, students just want their voices to be heard. As a result, unseen outcomes connecting to online learning occur in the mindset of each student in their home. Therefore, students and teachers are frustrated and have a negative perspective on online learning.
Currently, full-time online learning is harming every student across our state. Without this issue being addressed, online learning leads to a deficit in students’ academic goals. As a result, teachers also lose motivation due to lack of tools and training.
The only way that we can balance and decrease online learning is to help schools in our state enforce a new school schedule which is mixed between in-person and online learning. I hope that when the time is right, we can all for once finally get away from online learning.
Jace Hamakawa
Hilo High School student
