Students say distance learning falls short
D istance learning has been a necessity during this time but it is not the best education nor experience for teachers, students or families. It is merely a placeholder, a survival strategy. While technology has a powerful place in education, it does not provide the safety, comfort, rigor and community of a school, what a student needs to thrive.
Good evidence of this is a project done for an American Studies class at Plainfield High School. Teachers Kevin Mariano and Laura Maher asked their students to identify the strengths and weaknesses of distance learning and to conduct surveys, presenting their conclusions in a video format with the high school staff as the audience. Their objective was to suggest ways, as in the New Deal Era, in which to offer relief, reform and recovery in the wake of the detrimental effects distance learning has had on public education.
A student identified as Jacob said “...students create these [social] bonds that will help them get through life and school… decisionmakers are losing sight of this social aspect that students get by being in the classroom…[to lose] these interactions critical to student growth would be a gut punch.”
Schools are the safest places for many at-risk children who rely on teachers, counselors, paraprofessionals, administrators and support staff to offer protection, structure, guidance, and emotional support they may not receive at home. A child kept in a more unsafe environment may not be able to learn from a distance and may feel more isolated. A student cannot develop emotionally, socially and behaviorally without schools as the context. Phoebe, another student, said, “Humans thrive off of other humans; that’s just how we are. Not having a source for social interaction will be devastating.”
Students with special needs are losing ground every day. Most parents are not trained educators and feel utterly submerged; some parents will be able to guide their children well. The gap between those whose parents were able to rise to the occasion and those whose parents were barely keeping their heads above water will be staggering.
The lessons taught by these high school juniors are profound. They report “feeling an overwhelming stress of school, as their room is their classroom.” Some click for updates every few minutes. The increase of busy work and lack of depth results in decreased motivation. Students’ inability to talk to teachers about lessons or personal stress because “...we know they have their own lives and kids to take care of, so we don’t want to be another burden” leaves them feeling isolated.
Students see the increase of hacking and not seeing friends or participating in school activities as dangerous. They say technology, while important, is one piece of a sound education and increased screen time plus decreased social interaction is a recipe for deteriorating mental health. Students are purchasing blue light-blocking glasses to stop debilitating headaches brought on by the increase in screen time.
Governors dictated distance learning; teachers made it happen; students adapted. A student named Julia stated, “We are not happy. For the time being, this form of education is all we have, and it is what we will continue to utilize until we have reason to believe it is safe to institutionalize learning once again.” Kathryn, another student, bluntly concluded, “Students feel like they aren’t learning, and teachers feel like they aren’t teaching. This online learning system is being done because it is our only option, not because it actually works.”
School buildings are essential places. Learning from afar is not comparable.
Randall Collins is a retired superintendent of Waterford public schools. Kevin Mariano teaches social studies and Laura Maher teaches English at Plainfield High School.