In an article published by the Economist, an in depth look is given to how children around the world are going to be affected academically by covid-19. We hear a lot about how this virus is affecting students in the US and we see personally how we are being affected day after day but it's also important to consider how children are going to be affected globally. Time spent in school can be beneficial to students and every second counts but on the other hand online learning may be a blessing in disguise for children who attend school in less fortunate areas.
How much do you think to virus is going to affect students globally and what do you think the repercussions will be to the public education system?
8 comments:
I think it will definitely have a huge impact on the student's education. Students around the world will not be engaged in online classes as much as they engaged in the face to face classes. It will be harder both for the students and the professors to do proper learning during this global crisis.
Being from Michigan, I can relate to how this will affect primary school students. Due to unequal levels of funding across school districts, some students can continue to learn through digital means or school funded laptops, while others may not have the budget to do so. There is currently a debate across the state as whether the state should allow public school students to receive credit while learning not in school, or to finish the school year where it is and some classes would not be finished teaching the students all of the material. I hope that the state works out something soon so all students can receive the credit and material needed, however no matter what this virus will have a lasting impression on these students.
The transition to online eduction I believe reveals how large the socioeconomic gap from student to student really is. Many students across the states and globally do not have the means at home to participate in a cyber learning environment. This increases the gap between students who can benefit from online learning. This just calls for more government funding that might not be available for everyone at this point in time. The repercussion I forsee is an increase in education inequality.
I think in older children (high school and college) it is easier for them to pay attention in online classes and are more able to focus on doing homework at home. For other children in middle school I think it will be more difficult for them. I am not sure how long kids will be out of school, but I think they will be very behind in some aspects just because it is impossible to teach some things online or by giving them homework.
I agree with the statement that online learning will benefit those children who attend lower-income schools, making it a more equal playing field. However, the amount of learning that can be done online is extremely limited. From seeing the material given to middle schoolers and grade-schoolers, I can tell their education is basically going down the drain. Maybe some schools have it more figured out to be more productive, but I think this will have a big impact in the long run when students have a gap in their knowledge.
I agree with some of the previous statements in that online learning will not benefit students from lower-income schools as much as people think. Not all households have the means to have access to internet or have the technology readily available for usage. From what I experienced in high school, there were students that had no internet access at home and would do any online material at the library or use the free WiFi at McDonald's. And considering the situation and social-distancing being put in place, that will be hard for students that depended on those places for internet access to find another alternative.
I agree that online learning isn't beneficial for those schools with lower-income. As college students it can be said that is easier for some more than others to gain an education online and as far as we are in our education, this temporary change shouldn't effect us much. However, the same cannot be said for kids that are in the developmental stages in life and need to learn the essentials of being in a social environment, working with others, and others. It will be interesting to see how those whom are so young bounce back from this online form of learning.
Post a Comment