To quote Linus VanPelt (of Peanuts fame), "There are three things I've learned to never discuss with people: religion, politics, and the Great Pumpkin". I'm going to try to abandon my own political beliefs on this blog, but it only seems fitting to start this journey with an explanation of one of my favorite hobbies.
We've all heard that old saying, "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer", combine that with the sheer humor of millions of Monday-Morning Quarterbacks, and you have my favorite afternoon (commuting) hobby - Listening to Conservative Talk Radio. I could get into the benefits of this (listening to the other side without arguing back, or understanding the viewpoints of others) but I fear that it would lead to a rant on party politics and to a lack of educated leaders; so let me skip right to my point. My favorite 5:00 drive is focused around a certain "America's Mr. Right", and with the current affairs of Wisconsin Politics, several of his listeners have been very... passionate about their beliefs on education. One of the callers (on Wed. Feb. 16th) decided that Online Education was the way of the future and that our country should (and I quote...), "Fire all of those cry baby teachers, and pay someone 9 dollars an hour to babysit the website of a statewide online high school"
For all of my skepticism over online education, the continued... err... support(?) of our fellow man seems most relevant today. I have many fears about online learning; I worry about lack of social skills/social contact from sitting at home in front of a computer. I'm (obviously) concerned about online fine arts education, and also concerned about the educational development of students who are not physically engaged in their learning. With that being said (and several more reasons to come), I need to go back to the support of the taxpayer. I need to go back to this because I worry that terms like "Social Contact", "Fine Arts", and "Educational Development" may confuse a few of our everyday taxpayers.
One great concern with the lack of a physical learning space is the impact this may have on a community. From the perspective of a rural educator, I wonder what would happen without evening sporting events, theatre productions, musical concerts, or community education. I cannot imagine an announcer saying, "And now we introduce the starting lineup from Triton Online Teaching ALternative (I just wanted to make up an acronym, in this case I chose TOTAL); playing quarterback will be Johnny Smith live from his built-in webcam from his nifty new iPhone 4..." but I can imagine how unhappy our community members would be knowing that the $9/hour babysitter does not get paid an additional $2/hour to act as coach to the high school football team.
Again, online education may be the way of the future, but I worry about how to integrate this future with our troubled present. With my eyes focused firmly on my home state, I say goodbye for today
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
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Enjoyed reading your post about your apprehensions concerning online learning. A first comment would be a response to the $9/hour babysitter. Someone who is a GOOD online teacher has the same abilities and requirements as a face-to-face teacher. The cyber classroom creates more flexibility for student and teacher as well as some interesting challenges.
ReplyDeleteSocialization happens outside the cyber classroom in my estimation. SEMVA is a supplemental school so students cannot be enrolled full time with us. They can take up to 4 classes (I think--maybe 3) and must take the rest of their classes in a brick-and-mortar classroom. Two of my grandchildren (ages 10 and 15) are homeschooled and that is one of the first questions they get asked. They are part of a coop where they participate in plays, art, and music classes as well as other things. They also participate in FFA which offers other classes and options. Of course, they are my grandchildren, but I rarely see children who are as outgoing and comfortable with all ages as they are.
But back to online. At last Friday's conference, they had a parent panel. Several of these parents had bullying problems with their neighborhood schools to the point they choose the online option for their children. Their children are full time online and do not feel a gap at all in their socialization.
I hear your concerns and frustrations, I really do. I also hear the predictions about online learning and why it is growing. We must be involved in the changes to make the experience the best possible it can be for our students!