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Megan Liu

Ms. Oviatt

Academic Writing: Argument and Research Writing

8 July 2020

Even in a Pandemic, Online Learning Is Not a Replacement for School

Online schooling is a debated topic now more than ever with schools having already

closed for several months to finish their school year amid all this uncertainty. The big question

is, how will schools reopen this coming school year, or should they even reopen? This decision

could depend on the vaccine. Covid-19 has researchers across the globe racing to develop

vaccines (Corum, Jonathan, et al.). From what those experienced authors report in their article in

the New York Times, the goal for the Covid-19 vaccine availability is set for next year, even

with vaccines normally taking years of testing and research. This promising hope could be

questionable as it may go against the norms of regular testing, which might be more thorough,

and still leaves room to guess whether schools should reopen or not. For the vast majority of the

population in America, online learning has taken its toll with children restless at home, and

parents struggling to take care of their children while continuing their jobs at home, or lacking

their jobs altogether. Yet, from a student’s viewpoint, online learning might be an even grimmer

reality because they are the only ones facing this new, immature type of learning head on. Prior

to a vaccine, regular schooling should recommence with new safety measures, even if that means

a partial reopening, because it’s apparent that online schooling doesn’t go far enough with

students lacking vital elements like communication and structure.

With online schooling, there are limited and less advanced course materials due to less

preparation, plus there are technological struggles on both sides, in addition to pacing for
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students that may take a while to balance. On relatively short notice, shifting printed work and

other interactive materials onto a screen would probably not be entirely accurate because the

types of assignments aren’t the same with new platforms, and even different material may be

introduced for whatever reason. Course work could be challenging to keep up with because of

pacing that hasn’t been tested, students having to adjust to new platforms, or students not even

having access to certain digital elements. Jorge E. Casares and Andrew Smalleyy reveal, “A

study from the Associated Press found that 17% of U.S. students do not have computers in the

home and 18% of students lack access to high-speed internet,” showing how a sufficient number

of students are struggling with just meeting digital requirements. Even if a student did have

access to all the necessary technology and happened to be technologically knowledgeable, that

student could struggle with how the school would utilize platforms or how they should uphold

the school’s now unclear expectations, since it may take some time to set fair rules or guidelines

into place. Overall, quickly converting previous materials to online platforms can lead to less

expansive course materials, poor pacing, and digital issues.

Secondly, connections and communication at school with others can affect a student’s

mental well-being, learning, grades, and involvement; real life interactions are on a very different

level. As simply put, “Communication helps with coping and healing,” (Beachboard, Cathleen). I

remember feeling my mood immensely improve after facetiming a close friend or two. Just

chatting about what the other person was doing now, how we felt, or how tricky online learning

was really kept me grounded. Also, with good communication a class will likely be more

involved, which is helpful for the class to learn more (“Importance of Communicating in the

Classroom”). However, good communication in an online classroom may be a struggle to

uphold. Also, a student could normally rely on getting quick feedback from teachers or receiving
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answers to questions. Therefore they could be more involved instead of just waiting for a reply

and possibly feel discouraged to continue their work. The latter could be what is happening more

during online learning. The article “Importance of Communicating in the Classroom” continues

by saying, “A teacher can gauge the effectiveness of a lecture by student feedback,”

exemplifying that it’s not just teacher feedback to students that’s important in communication;

it’s also student feedback to teachers, which might ultimately benefit students in the end. A

teacher might be able to adjust material so the class can perform better, but with slow

communication and students unable to voice their reaction to material, this is harder to achieve.

Schools can normally foster communication so that students are benefited in a multitude of ways;

however, now that is harder to accomplish with less face to face interactions.

Finally, especially in schooling periods, every student needs some structure in their lives.

School is an example of a large routine taking up children’s years, and it turns out to be quite

beneficial. According to clinical director Amanda Stropes, logic, memory, learning,

attentiveness, literacy skills, and thinking are components included in cognitive development,

which can be enriched through structure and routine. Stropes claims that with more familiar

routines, independence can occur in children. Some control or direction in mind is what children

need (Stropes). These needs of structure are not addressed by school closures since students are

not moving from class to class with timestamps on courses throughout the day. Instead students

are at home, possibly with not many activities going on and no one to regulate their school day.

At home, I, like many other students, cannot say it was easy to organize every school day. With

students now being in different settings and situations then school, more leniency has to be

introduced, but students have to know how to use that leniency wisely. A student could depend

on a less structured schedule or rely on open periods during the day, but structure at school is
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easier to follow, versus creating your own effective routines from scratch to organize your entire

schooling period. Standardized scheduling with time carefully allotted to specific events

throughout the day can make it easier to focus on work and not be distracted, along with other

benefits of having routines and structure.

However, when reading through all these supports one could think, could successful

online enrichment programs like Estudies in Duke Tip or other similar programs be utilized as

online schooling? Luckily, these programs have advanced course materials that have been used

on online platforms before and have a pacing that’s been experimented with. To counter that,

there are some differences between Duke Tip Estudies and similar programs, and schooling

across America or even the world. These programs can be successful in enhancing and enriching

learning and opportunities but would probably struggle in being a sole provider of education.

Some enrichment programs may have a lower workload and a shorter timeline compared to

normal schools, which is easier for many students to handle. Alas, a typical school has to cover

many subjects each day for a longer period of time. Another difference is that these programs

don't nurture the key skill of communication that would likely take place in a regular, full time

school. So, for now our hope is in schools partially reopening their doors to keep people safe, but

still include some of the more regular interactive elements.

To summarize, online learning can barely match what actual school provides for students.

Some examples of what students need are regularly paced and suitable material, less technology

dependent work, a strong sense of communication to keep students’ minds active for overall

mental well being or success in class, and finally structure to keep students focused. “Educators,

administrators, and policy makers must minimize the disruptions that school closures will have

on academic development,” assert PhDs and PsyDs Golberstein, Ezra, et al., very clearly noting
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that disruptions are immeasurable right now. They also acknowledge that school is not limited to

teaching instructive material; it includes much more when stating, “Schools offer many other

critical services to students outside of education.” Even if material was converted successfully to

online platforms, there may still be things missing. We have to take action this fall and reopen

school doors with whatever new safety measures are necessary, even if that only means partially

reopening. The chance of success or normalcy for our next school year depends on a strong start.

Should the new class of 2021 face an even harder year then what the graduating class of 2020

ended with?

Works Cited

Beachboard, Cathleen. “Focusing on Student Well-Being in Times of Crisis.” Edutopia, George

Lucas Educational Foundation, 27 Mar. 2020, www.edutopia.org/article/focusing-

student-well-being-times-crisis.

Casares, Jorge E. and Andrew Smalleyy. “K-12 Education. Public Education's Response

to the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic”, National Conference of State Legislatures, 4

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May 2020, www.ncsl.org/research/education/public-education-response-to-coronavirus-

covid-19.aspx.

Corum, Jonathan, et al. “Coronavirus Vaccine Tracker.” The New York Times, The New York

Times, 10 June 2020, www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/science/coronavirus-vaccine-

tracker.html.

Golberstein, Ezra, et al. “Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) and Mental Health for Children

and Adolescents.” JAMA Pediatrics, 14 Apr. 2020,

doi:10.1001/jamapediatrics.2020.1456.

“Importance of Communicating in the Classroom.” Ministry of Education, Guyana, 7 July 2015,

www.education.gov.gy/web/index.php/teachers/tips-for-teaching/item/1570-importance-

of-communicating-in-the-classroom.

Stropes, Amanda. “Back to School: Importance of Structure and Routine for Healthy Child

Development.” Families First, Mojo Media Labs, 5 Aug. 2019,

www.familiesfirstindiana.org/back-to-school-importance-of-structure-and-routine-for-

healthy-child-development.