Interviewer: Siena Iwasaki Milbauer
COVID-19 has radically changed how schools operate in Minnesota, the United States, and across the globe. We’ve been talking with Asian American Minnesota youth, asking them to share their 2020 academic experiences. For our final entry in this series, we interview high school junior Cassus.
Please introduce yourself!
Cassus: My name is Cassus Moua. I use any pronouns. I go to Great River school and I am a junior.
What happened to your academics in the spring, when the pandemic first hit the US?
Cassus: I remember talking to my friend and I was like “See you on Monday!” I keep looking back on that and laughing because that’s not what happened. It’s been like countless Mondays now and I still haven’t seen her.
[A] difficult part [of distance learning] was retaining the information I learned. That was something I didn’t realize would be an issue. I thought it would just be like normal, but it wasn’t. I learned a bunch of stuff last year in math, [but] I can’t even tell you what I learned, I don’t remember. [I think it’s because] there wasn’t anything engaging to do, it was just sitting at your desk, listening to a teacher drone on.
But a not so difficult part was turning in homework. It doesn’t seem like that big of a deal, but I usually have one of two assignments a month, during normal school, that would just be late. And now I have all this time to take things at my pace and dive into what I’m learning.
What is your school’s current structure for the fall 2020 semester? How is that structure working or not working for you?
Cassus: For the most part, [my school is online]. There’s an option if you want to go to school, you can. They’re not teaching in the class, you can just [physically] be at school. And for my environmental systems and sciences [class], we are taking field trips to Como Woodlands. And social distancing there and collecting soil and all that jazz!
This year it’s [been] easier because it’s not just suddenly “we’re going online now,” it’s expected. We’re going to start the school year online, so that’s what you can prepare for.
[However,] I don’t like being home all the time. I go on a run everyday with my dog, before school, and that’s the most movement I get all day. I have one of those fit bits. And it tracks your steps during the day. When I went to school, I got over 10,000 steps every single day. And now when I run, it’s 5,000, 6,000 steps a day if I get less than 3 miles in. I’m moving around a lot less, and I stay in one spot a lot longer than I normally do. So it’s a toll on my body.
I [do] really enjoy the homework load. I’m doing the IB diploma, so this is the year that homework is going to really get on you. Your back is literally going to hurt even though you’re not carrying a backpack because of how much work you have to do. But the teachers are [being] super understanding and they’re like “yeah, if you want an extension, go ahead.” So I really like that.
What are your hopes and fears for the future of your education?
Cassus: My fear is for the next year. Senior year is the biggest year of your entire grade level education. That’s when you have graduation. I hear so many stories of people dropping out of college and most of the time they are people of color. [So] I would take pride in saying “Hey, I graduated.” And then saying “Now I’m gonna go to college.” [So] I’m scared that I won’t be able to have a normal graduation. That’s a huge touchpoint in my life that I’ve been looking forward to for a while. So if it doesn’t happen the way I pictured it, that would just be kind of disappointing.