Ever since the Pandemic started we were met with a new reality. A reality of waking up daily for 8:30 a.m. classes. Staring at a screen all day waiting for school to be over is the new classroom experience. However, some teachers decided they should use breakout rooms. Now all teachers use this feature but a good margin of teachers use breakout rooms as an attempt for students to get to know one another in this strange situation we all must live in. The prompt “Click to Join” is one which many hate to see or some love.
With the Covid-19 pandemic landing at the beginning of the 2020 school year, students were thrown into a whole new schedule and thrown into a new classroom with new teachers and classmates. Sure we know a friend or 2, yet once you are thrown into a breakout your face to face with someone you’ve never met before. What truly makes breakout rooms an awkward waste of time, is many turn off their cameras once they’re in breakout rooms and keep themselves muted to avoid as much conversation as possible.
However, if you are paired with an old friend or current friends in a breakout room it can be one of the most entertaining moments in school. Because at that point it turns into a group facetime with your friends, trying to figure out the question the teacher asked. Even with a stranger can be enjoyable as for those extroverts in the world, making friends are fun to them and those breakout rooms give them the best 1 on 1 time which they might not have come across before Covid. While for introverts who are extremely shy these rooms might be extremely agonizing to be in.
As fellow Cal High student put it shortly, “It’s just awkward, someone you’ve never met now they see your room or your house”, says Hector Lopez. One’s room is one’s private area and now for a stranger to instantly see everything can be a little embarrassing and strange. However, it’s our reality for now and we must make the most of it. It’s a great opportunity to make friends, and who knows, maybe the stranger you meet in your breakout room may become one of your closest friends.
