CURT'S CORNER
Online Learning Relationships matter the most in K-12 education By Dr. Curtis Finch Deer Valley Unified School District Superintendent
D
eer Valley Unified School District will finish the 2019-20 school year online. In this adventure, we have discovered a key ingredient to successful K-12 schooling—relationships. Some learning environments make more sense for an online world—universities and colleges, for example. Quality discussion is lost with a computer screen, but this scenario works well for busy adults, especially those who may be working while advancing their education. A portion of my Ph.D. was online and was very valuable for my working schedule. Because it was a hybrid program, in person and virtual, it was probably more expensive overall, but the benefits out-weighed the struggles, as I was working full time and raising a family. K-12 education, on the other hand, must be done in person; the face-to-face education focuses on more than just teaching content and information. So, why do brick-and-mortar public K-12 schools even exist? One must look to the past for answers. K-12 education in the United States started in the private world in the late 1700s and continued into the mid-1800s in small groups where only 30% of the population had any formal instruction. It increased to 70% by the late 1800s. Pennsylvania, Ohio and Massachusetts were the first to have compulsory K-12 education, until all states joined in the 1930s. Mann, Montessori, Dewey and Comenius were among the first designers to promote universal education for developing: 1) universal knowledge; 2) human compassion; 3) citizenship; and 4) the ideals of a budding democracy. The American system has some other unique attributes, such as calendars built around harvest, welcomed parental engagement, locally elected school board members, individual student rights and responsibilities, and specialized programs for specific groups of students. The American K-12 public education has expanded on the foundational concepts formed more than 100 years ago. We welcome all students, teach foundation principles of individual and group values, promote the core concepts found in our democracy, and guide all students to reach their full potential. Many of the European, Asian and Middle Eastern “sorting systems” remove students based on test performance. The beauty of the American system is the ability to be a “late bloomer” and still have access to public education. Although online learning is becoming popular for post-secondary education degrees, one should not see an immediate significant change for K-12. The greatest single need for children and youngadult formation is the bond between school personnel and students. A computer screen cannot relay connection and purpose as an inperson relationship can. While DVUSD forges ahead finishing the school year online, everyone is looking forward to returning to our 39 schools. The teachers, support staff, lunch servers, bus drivers, crossing guards, secretaries, custodians, counselors, coaches and administrators are missing the students just as much as the kids are missing their friends and school personnel. Relationships matter the most in K-12 education.
Dr. Curtis Finch is the DVUSD superintendent and can be reached at superintendent@ dvusd.org.
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