It has been about nine weeks since school switched to the FID days. Since then, we have worked to continue our learning in the most efficient way possible and get the most out of our new settings. With the lack of in person communication, it may be harder for students to get help; however, many teachers are finding the best ways to keep in touch and make sure we are not falling behind. 

One such teacher, Mrs. Eskra, who teaches all AP and academic economics classes, has used remote learning to find websites and post screencasts to effectively explain new information to students. “It’s helpful to hear her go through things on the activities that we do rather than just lecturing like some of the other teachers are,” Lizzie Waters (‘21) said.

One difficult part of economics is that it is unlike any subject students have learned before, so it can be harder to learn in any setting. To combat this, Mrs. Eskra often asks students if they have questions or need further explanation, and if many students are confused about the same concepts, she will slow down and make another screencast to discuss it. 

This has not gone unnoticed by her students. Josh Holmes (‘20) said, “It has been a little tougher to understand the new concepts we’re learning in the new format but she is doing a good job of getting our feedback and answering the questions we might have.” Similarly, Lizzie commented that “economics can be really stressful because it’s confusing to a lot of people and she really just does a good job explaining and reiterating things in a better way when things are confusing.”

It is understandable for the transition from in person to online to be rough because it is unpredictable. Despite the challenges, Lizzie thinks that “[Mrs. Eskra] has done the best job out of my teachers. She is still open to questions and she has the same pacing she normally does.”

As the AP Econ tests are around the corner, Mrs. Eskra has switched to review mode in her AP classes, providing the best learning activities for both test takers and non test takers. The former group has been doing practice FRQs to prepare for the kinds of questions College Board will have while the latter group is discussing how to apply the concepts they learned to real life examples in the economy. Either way, students are able to prove what they have learned and use their knowledge in a meaningful way. 

No matter if it is in person or online, Mrs. Eskra will continue to help her students understand how the economy works and how it influences them every day.