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IMPORTANT BENEFITS OF ONLINE SCHOOL

Students should be keeping their brains active with online school work even if it is not mandatory By Jules Torrice Designed by Caroline Pollock

On March 23, 2020, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam closed all Virginia schools throughout the academic year due to the coronavirus because congregating in such high numbers increases the risk of transmitting the virus.

Recently, some of the teachers from the local schools have reached out to students and have given them optional school assignments to do at home. Since there is no way to physically go to school and the teachers are working hard to stay in contact and give us these assignments, it is the perfect time to do those optional school assignments.

Benefits of doing these optional assignments during this time include keeping the brain active, reviewing things that were not covered from the previous school year, and getting ready for the next school year and possibly college for those soon-to-be seniors. According to Public School Review, “While some school districts have moved to year-round schedules, most still adhere to the traditional nine-month calendar, with a winter break, spring break, and a lengthy summer break sprinkled throughout the year. At 10- 12 weeks, summer vacation can result in a substantial brain drain that can significantly impact your child’s education.”

However, we are in a pandemic which is forcing a much longer “break” on us than summer affords. Students who choose not to do the online school options are seeing this time as summer vacation. This is not summer vacation. Treating this time as vacation can cause brain drain which is the opposite of keeping the brain active.

According to Brookings.com, over the course of a long vacation, students lose between two months of math skills from the previous from the previous school year. Some students also experience setbacks in reading ability. So, now imagine all the students choosing not to do those online school options which will double the loss of math skill and reading ability.

The second opportunity that the online school options offer is helping finish the school year and covering what was missed. Students have technology at their fingertips 24/7 so if something is not understood, then they can just search it online. The teachers who are posting online options are initially helping with that. For example, someone may still have questions about trigonometry. Their math teacher is providing them with online worksheets and notes so they get practice and study time for them. This goes for any class subject. Also, the online assignments don’t have to be due the day you start them.

The last benefit is getting ready for next school year and possibly college. The four years you are at high school prepare you for college or entering the job force. Either way you have had an educational experience. Juniors and seniors should especially be taking this time to study and research colleges and any information they might need for next school year. This includes those online assignments because they give valuable practice and you also have the option to email your teachers and counselors for any questions you might have.

If you are one of the students choosing not to do the online school options then let me ask you this: Do you want to be the student that looks at this current way of life and learning as “optional” and not important, or do you want to be the student that says let me learn what I was supposed to learn at my own pace for an hour or so each day? I ask this because we will hopefully soon see which student ends up with more options to make themselves happy and with less of a struggle when we get out of quarantine. If you are not up to date with new information about school closings, stay-at-home orders, or the coronavirus in general, here are some websites to follow: NBC, CDC, and CNN.