On March 13th of 2020, something historically awesome occured at Naperville North.
“In response to the rapidly evolving Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation, Naperville 203 will be closing schools and canceling all sports/activities for students beginning tomorrow, March 14, 2020, through spring break with a tentative plan of returning on April, 6, 2020.”
Yup. We all wished for it, and Dan Bridges delivered. School was officially cancelled.
Initially, my reaction was far from mature. As my friends and I wandered through the halls and stumbled upon this message at random, our eyes and mouths widened in joy. As the people around us noticed us yelling in joy, the entire small caf erupted in relief and happiness.
But now? Sitting at home, waking up at 1:30pm to sign in for attendance, then playing video games until 3am, I’m not so sure that this was what I envisioned when school was initially cancelled. Do I enjoy it over school? Sure. It’s better than waking up in the morning and getting a tardy pass for AP Lit. But do I think it’s good for my education? Well, that’s a different story.
Here’s the thing with online schooling. I like it, for the most part; it’s flexible, objectively easier, and low-stress. My biggest problem with online schooling isn’t actually with the system itself—it’s the responsibility it puts on the learner.
Let me explain. You guys know me pretty well from my blogs—senioritis-ridden sloth. I can’t even be bothered to go to the first four periods of school half the time. E-learning for people like me is… well… extremely difficult. It’s hard for us to log off League of Legends, pull up Canvas, and start working on homework. We enjoy lying in bed in peace, neglecting the burden of using our brains for education.
So that’s that. Let’s ditch the whiny rant for a moment here and truly analyze the pros and cons of elearning, and what I think of each of them. Sure, my opinion may be extremely skewed because of my personality, but where’s the fun in getting bombarded with facts? Everything’s always better when you have a relatable blogger to agree with.
I think that the flexibility is probably the most controversial benefit/negative of e-learning, by far. For those that have incredible time management skills and self-discipline, e-learning is probably a walk in the park. They get up at 8am—no problem—and efficiently complete all of their work on time.
But what about the students on the other side of the spectrum? We struggle. A lot. I know I’ve already touched on this in the previous paragraphs, but self-directed e-learning is incredibly difficult. With that said, I’m not here to simply complain about how lazy I am. The way I see it, e-learning may actually be a turning point for many of us. After all, our grades depend on our ability to get out of bed and get to work. This may be the perfect opportunity to change our poor habits and finally fix our terrible work ethic.
However, with the flexibility of being able to access your courses whenever and however, comes isolation. Think about it—without the enforcement of attending classes at the exact same time each and everyday, the collaborative environment of school periods quickly disintegrates. For those that are social learners and love class discussions, they quickly find that they must adapt to an entirely different learning environment, driven by online textbooks and canvas assignments. For those that are introverted and naturally quiet? Well, it isn’t so bad.
To add on, what about tailoring to a student’s specific needs? I’m aware that many students regularly seek the help of their teachers, whether that’s before school, during lunch, or after school. They may be limited to the less-efficient realm of electronic conversation in order to receive the help they require. However, this isn’t to say that one-on-one help is impossible. Many teachers, such as Mrs. Trowbridge, are keeping this crucial aspect in mind as they reach out to their students through Google Hangouts throughout the day (props to you guys!). Honestly, I’ve never been a student to reach out for help outside of class, so it’s hard for me to comment on the difficulty of this situation. But I can only imagine how difficult it may be for those that lose such a significant aspect of their education.
With all of that said, I’ve only been through one week of e-learning. I still haven’t completely adjusted to the system myself, but I can confidently say that this form of education is different for everybody. For the introverted and naturally self-directed learners—it’s heaven. Regardless, everybody is suffering their own losses and benefitting in their own way.
I’ll be back next week for an update to this whole e-learning dilemma. See you guys then!
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