Are my children losing out with virtual learning.

by Jesse Rodriguez-Hammond MS EdPsy

Are online schools beneficial?

If there is anything this pandemic has taught us, is that some students in fact thrive in an environment free of distractions. While several students were not able to perform as well in an online platform, there were many students who began thriving in such virtual environments. Mainly because they were not faced with challenges like being physically or mentally bullied or harassed. Other students who suffer from depression or social anxiety often find themselves in “pure hell” when they are attending in-person classes. Additionally, children with hyperactivity have found benefits due to the lack of classroom distractions. (Fleming, 2020) For these students, the pandemic has been a welcomed relief.

Many have heard about all the negatives of online learning and how students all fell behind because of it. Maybe the reason might not have been the student’s fault. Many school districts had no idea how to switch to an online learning/teaching environment in such short notice. Even the idea of what platform to use eluded many districts. Many teachers were not prepared nor were they trained to teach online and consequently, spent more time complaining about teaching online rather than learning the tools to make it work.

I have six children in my home and saw firsthand the struggles that many teachers had. One teacher would teach five minutes and would let the class go all the while complaining about how she hated this "online thing". Other teachers would not require cameras be “on” so they had no idea if students were working or not. Now, that said, other teachers gave it their all and did a remarkable job teaching 25-30 students. Another aspect to consider is that regardless of the platform, online or in person, most classrooms have TOO many students in them.

I recently spoke to a student; I will call Baily (Name changed) who suffers with social anxiety. When asked about how they felt about online vs in-person learning Baily said, "every morning was like pure hell, getting ready and then knowing that I would have to be arm to arm with people in the hall. Then there is another fear was that I won't make it to class on time. I have five minutes to get to my locker, go to the bathroom if I need to [then] push myself through a sea of people to get to my class on time. When I get to my classroom, there are like 25 to 30 students. I love or well I like schoolwork, I just have a hard time with being in such a crammed school". What Baily said after that was an interesting analogy of what today’s large schools would be like for an adult, "it’s not fair, what adult would like to feel like they are forcing their way to get to the front of a rock concert every day just to get to work. The difference between an adult and a student is, I don't have a choice."

Sadly, in most states students are not given a choice. In the late 90s, as school budgets decreased, there was a push by school districts to make schools larger and larger and classrooms sizes as well. Schools that used to house 500 students now have as many as five thousand. (Hampel, 2002 pg. 357) Though there are some benefits to a large school like more groups, and class offerings. For that student that wants to take Latin or Engineering in high school to get an edge for entry into college these large school can be beneficial over small schools. However, the downside is that there is a higher dropout rate in larger school, more behavior issues and other criminal activity. (Brooks, 2016)

For many students where classroom sizes are an issue due to distraction, social anxiety or the need to feel like a student is part of a larger community, 2020 has taught us that online education can be a perfect solution for many students. It reminds me of one of Einstein's quotes "Everyone is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid."

References

Brooks, J. (2016). Small schools: The myths, reality, and potential of small schools. Medium. https://medium.com/communityworksjournal/small-schools-the-myths-reality-and-potential-of-small-schools-76a566c42f6e

Fleming, N. (2020). Why are some kids thriving during remote learning? Edutopia. https://www.edutopia.org/article/why-are-some-kids-thriving-during-remote-learning

Hampel, R. L. (2002). Schools historical perspectives on small schools. Phi Delta Kappan, 83(5), 357-363. https://doi.org/10.1177/003172170208300508