COVID-19's Impact On Education: the in-person vs. remote learning debate

Heading into the new school year, parents have a big decision to make regarding their children’s schooling: Will their child be going into school for the fall semester, or will they continue remote learning?

Many elected officials believe getting students and staff back into school buildings for the September of 2020 will be best for K-12 learning. There are also beliefs surrounding the social and emotional well being of the students, and how in-person schooling is necessary for emotionally stable children. According to the CDC’s website, the school setting is the second most influential on a child’s health and well being. When at school children, develop social and emotional skills, receive educational instruction, participate in physical activities, and much more. As schools now announce their reopening plans for September, it is evident that students will be deprived of the perks of an in-person school environment.

Although, plans of reopening sound better than the possibility that some schools may not reopen at all. If schools were to not provide any educational instruction during the fall term, there is a high probability that students may experience a learning gap. It has been proven that extended school closures are harmful to children as they can and most likely will suffer from learning loss. One consistent example of this is a summer break. Over the summer many students do not engage in educational activities, and going long periods of time without exercising their knowledge can lead to the learning loss called, “the summer slide.” Data shows that over summer break students lose about 50% of the math skills learned the previous school year, and just this April after school closures, the learning loss was the same. This “corona slide” could, unfortunately, have long-term effects on these children’s educational gains.

After hearing all that, going back to in-person instruction must sound great. Although there are a few downsides to the plan. 

First off, by fully or partially reopening schools, the likelihood of a major resurgence in COVID-19 cases is incredibly high. As keeping the population safe is the top priority, this may not be the smartest idea. Another health issue is the students’ ability to wear masks. Many pre-k through elementary school students may not want to wear masks the whole day for various reasons, such as mask materials being itchy, masks being hard to breathe in, masks being too hot, or just because they don’t want to. Washing hands is another task that may be problematic among young students.

These specific downsides may not be as much of a problem for older students, although, there are some other ones that may play a bigger role in junior high and high schools. Schools are meant to foster interpersonal connections between students, staff, and faculty, although with the new six feet apart rule, not much of that will be happening. In classrooms where students were previously able to choose to sit next to their friends, they won’t really be able to sit next to anybody. During lunchtime where students were previously allowed to have twelve people at one table, there may only be three or four. In the hallways where students used to hang out with friends in between classes, and talked about anything and everything that was on their mind, there will be one line of students in each direction, spaced six feet apart, marching to their destination, like in a prison.

After hearing the downsides you may have changed your mind, but don’t forget, if the economy reopens enough that parents need to go back to work, they have to send their kids somewhere. Think about this… Do you have the option to send your child back to school? Or was that choice made for you?

So what’s the alternative? Remote learning… part two. When the schools across the US tried remote learning in March, April, may, and June, it was a disaster. The US education system was not meant to handle large online shifts like this for pandemics like COVID-19. However, it wasn’t a TOTAL disaster. A few statistics make it clear that electronic learning can be a good method if done properly. According to e-student.org, “e-learning can increase student retention rates by 25% to 60%.” This means that when participating in remote learning, students can remember more of what they learned, therefore decreasing the amount of knowledge lost during the "summer slide.”

Students across the US have being using e-learning methods in the classroom for as long as the can remember, so or them, the switch may not be as drastic as portrayed. Around 45% of elementary schools, 64% of middle school students, and 63% of high school students used digital learning methods daily. And around 57% of students were given their own personal electronic devices to use for school. 

Not only are students extremely comfortable with the technology, they also love it! About 45% of elementary school students said that their favorite ways to learn are playing digital learning games and watching online videos. And using technology for collaboration is the favorite learning method for 50% of elementary school students. Not to mention that K-12 students consider online tutoring to be an essential part of their learning experience.

All of this sounds great, however there are some downsides to this plan.

Although we’ve known this all along, even students at the best full-time virtual schools can do as well as or better than those at traditional ones, most studies have found that full-time online learning does not deliver the academic results of in-class instruction. E-learning may increase retention rates, but the students are covering less material using remote learning. Another downside is that most students would be staring at screens all day. This could cause visual impairments, or sleepless nights due to seeing too much blue light right before bed. The last downside is the lack of social interactions due to being isolated.

The fact is, neither of these plans are solid, and neither of them is a better or worse option. Although, now that you’ve heard both options, and you know the facts, what do you think is the best solution? If you are a parent, what will you be doing with you children regarding schooling in September?

Works Cited:

100 Essential E-Learning Statistics for 2020 | E-Student. (2020). Retrieved 29 July 2020, from https://e-student.org/e-learning-statistics/

Communities, Schools, Workplaces, & Events. (2020). Retrieved 31 July 2020, from https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/community/schools-childcare/reopening-schools.html

Dorn, E., Hancock, B., Sarakatsannis, J., & Viruleg, E. (2020). COVID-19 and student learning in the United States: the hurt could last a lifetime. mckinsey.com. Retrieved 31 July 2020, from https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/public-and-social-sector/our-insights/covid-19-and-student-learning-in-the-united-states-the-hurt-could-last-a-lifetime#.