Chatting With Morgan

Chatting With Morgan
What do students think of Launch’s online classes? We sat down with Morgan Burkitt, a senior at Forsyth High School, for a Q&A session about Launch, online learning  and other teen-friendly topics. 

Access Launch: What class have you taken with Launch?
Morgan Burkitt: I took Health over the summer.

Access: That’s great! Thanks for joining us. What was it like?
M.B.: It was a lot different than classes in a normal classroom. Instead of a teacher telling you what to do directly, you had to take initiative and do it yourself. You knew what assignments you had throughout the day and throughout the week, but it was up to you to get them done and complete them at your own pace.

Access: Did you talk to your teacher much?
M.B.: Yes, I emailed her quite a bit when I had questions. She was really good at getting back to me in a timely manner. She even took my suggestions into account sometimes.

Access: Did you like the experience of learning online?
M.B.: I really liked it—I’m a really independent person and I’m a really driven person. In a normal classroom setting, there are times where I get ahead of people and I just want to keep working ahead. With the online course, I could work as fast as I wanted to or slow as I wanted to, as long as I was getting my assignments in on the due date.

Access: What about your seated courses? How long have you attended Forsyth?
M.B.: My whole life—kindergarten through 12th grade.

Access: What’s your favorite thing about being a Forsyth student?
M.B.: Probably how close everyone is. In Forsyth, you get close with your classmates. I’ve grown up with most of these people. If they’ve transferred in, even—I know them, I know their name, I know a story about their Grandma—we’re all just so close with each other.

Access: Nice! When you’re not at school, how do you keep in touch—phone calls or texts?
M.B.: Texts.

Access: Does anyone your age make calls?
M.B.: Um, I would say that that’s a no. My mom and my dad call me, but typically, if I need a reply out of my friend and I want them to answer immediately, I’ll just text them. I know they’re less likely to answer a call than they would a text.

Access: What do you do when you’re not at school?
M.B.: I work at Tanger Outlet Mall in Branson—I worked there over the summer, too, which is why I really liked how flexible my Launch class was.

Access: What extracurricular activities are you involved in?
M.B.: I’m involved in many clubs. I am president of National Honor Society, I’m secretary of Thespian Club and I’m secretary of FCCLA. I’m also in FBLA and Spanish Club, and I take our journalism class, which I really enjoy. We don’t have a school newspaper, but our stories are published in our town’s newspaper, the Taney County Times.

Access: That’s great! Do you play any sports?
M.B.: Not now—I played volleyball for two years, and now I’m managing the volleyball team. I broke my ankle a couple of years back, so I can’t really play. I also manage the basketball team—I played basketball before, too.

Access: What is your favorite thing about participating in sports?
M.B.: In volleyball, you could compare us to a family. We’re always there to pick eachother up. It’s more than just a team. If I ever have something going on at home, or if one of my teammates is struggling with something, I know they’re always there for me, and I’ll always be there for them, on and off the court.

Access: I love that! Now, let’s talk about your future—what do you want to do when you graduate?
M.B.:  I want to go to college to pursue nursing. I’m deciding right now between Truman State and University of Central Missouri.

Access: That’s a great plan! Do you feel that Launch helped prepared you for college?
M.B.: I would say Launch definitely prepares you for college. In college, your teachers are going to expect you to take initiative and do things yourself. That’s kind of how Launch was—my teacher would send us a reminder, maybe, but it was up to us to get it in on time, and ultimately up to us if we did it correctly or not.

Access: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
M.B.: Yes! I really liked that I got to know my classmates, even though I didn’t know them in a physical way. It was neat collaborating with students from other schools!