Why Online Schooling Is Failing Students

When examining human history, one can note that societies have underwent change, but is all change necessarily progress? Obviously, this question is determined by whether or not the change is beneficial. Currently, schools are tackled with answering this question. While most schools teach their students by a classroom environment, some have decided to take a novel approach. These schools have transferred the teaching environment to the internet where subjects taught to by video conferencing. This, I argue, is a change for the worst. Most glaringly, this method changes the entire classroom setting to one that seems more out of reach and less interactive. It's also important to consider that schools teach more than just subjects; rather, schools enhance student's lives by introducing them to a diversity of people, both other students and teachers. Outside of class, students can learn from their peers or perhaps befriend them to form long-lasting friendships. This simply doesnt work, at least not as effectively, with a digital simulation. Lots of these important factors are lost with online schooling. Schools should reconsider the idea of video conferencing as beneficial because the environment it create damages learning, and the loss of a social atmosphere hurts students' future.

To determine whether this change is good or not depends on the question of "does this change enable students to learn more or less?" Personally, I find technology very distracting, and I'm sure teachers know this very well in their classroom environment. In our school, students are found scavenging any time to play on their phone whether appropriate or in appropriate. Video conferencing will intensify this problem. If you merge class time and technology, it's no secret what will happen. The student will likely find themselves doing something else more exciting than learning such as playing on their phone or hanging out with their friends. A teacher needs to be there one-on-one to establish boundaries to deter this behavior. Without this, even if they receive a punishment for it, distraction are simply more tempting when no one is physically there. By contrast, conventional schooling teaches people how to respect authority, and is more effective in discouraging students from distraction, a necessary lesson in achieving their goal as a contributing member of society.

Learning doesnt just relate to textbooks or tests, it also encompass social learning. Interacting with others is crucial in a wealth of jobs, and what better place to teach it than schools? EQ, or emotional intelligence, is the type of intelligence that assesses how well an individual performs in a social environment. To develop this, individuals need physical interaction in order to understand body language and speech patterns of others. Recently, jobs have been considering this over IQ, so an ideal student dedicated to online learning is heavily disadvantaged in that department. This new system can narrow the job opportunities available for students, and it's outside of their control! The loss of a social environment can also stunt an individual's development. Erick Erickson, a social psychologist, argues that teenage development is characterized by integrating roles to establish an identity, and that the lack of which can have a catastrophic ripple effect later on in life. Public schools prevent this by offering a diversity of people which students can converse with. This is often overlooked as a privilege offered by traditional schooling, but it's especially important during middle and high school where individuals are confused about who they are. Teenagers receive a sense of reassurance when they feel socially accepted, and who knows the inadvertent psychological consequences of the lack of this later on in life.

When one considers the damaging effects on learning and the problems that stem from a weak social environment, it's clear that the idea of video conferencing has a negative impact on students. This issue extends past the scope of schools. It reflects our intent with technology as a society moving forward, so it's an important one to establish a consensus on. Recently, technology has shortened our attention span and caused us to become more lazy, but simultaneously, it has interconnected us and sent us to the moon. It has both positive and negative effects depending on how we use it, but do we want it to enhance our life or control it?