Wilmington Friends School has announced that virtual learning will be replicated on campus starting today. 

Everyone likes Wednesdays. They provide students and faculty with much-needed time to take off their masks and relax during Zoom meetings. They can go to school in pajamas. School is still going on, just through a screen. This is also the only time during the week that they can control how other people see them. Whether it is the neon lights, bad wifi, visiting pets, or bedhead, WFS would like to help people cope with school. 

This is why WFS is now changing in-person learning to look more like online. That safe haven is going to be extended from under your covers to school. “What I really want is for students to feel more connected to the classroom environment,” says Rebecca Zug, Head of Upper School. “One thing we’ve learned from the pandemic is that school should be a place where students can be themselves, all of the time.” Every classroom at Friends will be fitted with changing neon lights that go all the way around the room. The windows will all be covered in black papers saying everyone’s name with varying capital letters, to replicate the impossibly-dark Zoom screens where students are shrouded in shadows. Blankets will be supplied to every student, so they can pretend to listen while actually sleeping. “A core aspect of remote learning has been awkward visits from family pets,” said Michael Benner, Assistant Head of School for Academics. “We are partnering with the Delaware Humane Society to replicate this at Friends. Five cats and two dogs, trained to walk across keyboards, will be placed in each classroom.”  The wifi….will not be upgraded at all. It fits the description ‘bad wifi’ well. A little too well. “Speaking for the staff and faculty here at WFS, we hope these changes will make in-person learning a little more like it is on remote learning days,” says Ryan Wood, the 9th Grade Peace teacher.