BY OLIVIA PASCALE-WONG
With everything advancing into the digital age, education was bound to make an evolution as well. It’s inevitable that technology is dramatically changing our lives. It seems like everywhere you look, and every corner you turn, technology is substituting the job of an actual employee. Aspects of our lives are noticeably different than how they were just 20 years ago.
Full online education is available to students, which gives them the leisure of doing their “class work” on their own time and schedule. According to the 2011 FL statutes for general requirements for high school graduation, one online class is required in order to graduate. With these major adjustments that the schooling system has offered to us, one has to wonder, what about a traditional education? Is a student who meets all of their course requirements online missing out on a real education, or a better one?
The best source on answering these issues would be actual students who have participated in a full time education. Take Christa Baron, a former online student, who feels as though her online classes have given her a better education than traditional schooling ever could. By “removing the negativity and pressure” out of learning, online school has done Baron well.
There are obvious benefits to online schooling, for example, no 6:00 AM alarm, and the comfort of completing your work at home. But how does a child with low motivation and a weak work ethic adapt to teaching themselves properly and getting their work done on time?
Depending on the type of student they are, some say that it is easier for them to focus while learning at their own pace, compared to being in a room full of loud students and an unconcerned teacher. Florida state laws require one online class as of now, but with technology advancing, and the number of online students raising, will the number requirement be going up in the future? And at any point will students or parents have a say?
Maybe the closest we’ll get to a “real” education are these online programs. The great debate of traditional schooling versus online education might be based solely on personal preference, and that’s all there is to it. Either way, there’s no denying that this alternative is catching on, and it seems to be working.
