The Pros and Cons of Online School

Due to the severity of COVID-19, there have been a large number of changes made and one of them is students transitioning to online schooling.

Online schooling presents many advantages alongside disadvantages. According to Homeschool Base, some advantages include students working at their own place, no dangers of violence because they aren’t on campus, and there is no peer pressure to use cigarettes, drugs, or alcohol. ThoughtCo. states that there would also be fewer distractions within the learning environment which allows students to be productive.

With students being able to learn at their own pace, it gives them the opportunity to speed through assignments that come easy to them and spend more time on the content they struggle with. Community College Review states that online schooling allows students to “harness their strengths and minimize their weaknesses.”

Another advantage is that online schooling automatically reduces the number of social pressures placed on students by their peers. Vittana declares that this reduction would help lower some student’s anxiety levels. Homeschool Base also includes that when it comes to online schooling, it allows the students to complete their work whenever they wish from wherever they are.

Many students may see online schooling as a break and push their assignments to the bottom of their priority list. On the other hand, there are students who feel like they are missing the opportunity to interact with people and getting direct instruction from their teachers.

Homeschool Base states some of the disadvantages include students who are less disciplined and mature will struggle with the freedom they now have, students miss out on social opportunities, and isolation could encourage anti-social feelings.

Humans are social animals and online schooling results in the lack of face to face interaction with any peers or teachers. The lack of interaction with teachers could lead to students struggling in certain classes because they need the guidance only an instructor can provide. This could cause classes to become large obstacles for some students to learn the curriculum.

It is no secret that there are times when students feel unmotivated, but in a school environment, they can lean on their peers and teachers to get them back on track. However, online schooling needs a lot of self-motivation to come from the individual in order to persevere through the hard moments. Vittana includes that it is easy to procrastinate which could lead to the student falling behind on their content.

Homeschool Base doesn’t forget to also state that another big disadvantage is the problems or sudden responsibilities that arise in households. Some students may be the oldest of their siblings and since they are home, they fall into being responsible for caring for them. Being able to balance schoolwork and taking care of family members can be difficult for students to manage. At least their school campus can provide a dedicated time and place to learn content and get work done.

It is clear to see the disadvantages heavily outweigh the advantages for students who aren’t prepared to be independent just yet. It is important everyone listens to the news and knows how to protect themselves. If everyone does their part in this pandemic along with socially distancing themselves, students and parents can go back to work safely.