"It is easier"…but what does that mean?
Oct 31st, 2006 by Mr. Higgins
At the k12 online conference, Katie Logan presented on a topic about at-risk students in an online world of high school education. In principle, I do not agree with education online before college. There is certainly nothing wrong with using the internet and all of it’s innumerable innovations, but I hear too many students make the comment that “it is easier”. What exactly does this mean? I asked a group of students this exact question and hear is a compulation of what they replied…
- It is easier because you don’t have to worry about doing the same thing at the same time everyday. You can budget your own time and as long as you get the work done by the due date, there is no problem. My instant response was, “Doing the same thing at the same time everyday, what does that sound like?” The students just sat back and one of them finally said a job. I went into a couple minute discussion that there is a right way to “take online high school” and a wrong way. To make something easier is not the right answer.
- It is easier because you don’t have to conform to rules and regulations like no candy, a dress code, and other structures that students like to violate on a daily basis. They talked about how you could literally be sitting in your boxers and “going” to class. I asked them if they wanted part of their generation to be defined as a picture of someone in their boxers sitting in front of the computer BECAUSE it is easier.
- It is easier because most of the work is directly to the point, without the embellishments that teachers add from time to time. (Remember, this is not factual. This is what students have heard about the process)
- Finally, it is easier because they don’t have to deal with teachers, they learn only as much as they want to at a time. I did not respond to this remark, but it made me think about what these students are saying about education in general, not directed at me or anyone in particular. THEY DON’T WANT TO DEAL WITH TEACHERS rang through my head throughout a couple more periods until I finally realized that they are to young to see “around the corner.” Every job they hope to have when they grow up will have a boss, who equates to a teacher in a school setting. In the context of this discussion, it was obvious the students didn’t even think about the real world job market.
This is one of those blog posts that really is not a response to Katie Logan’s presentation, just some gut feelings I have about students, teachers, education, and society.
Those are some interesting observations. I think that it is clear that we can learn a lot from talking and listening to our students. At the same time some of the answers point out that students are generally not ready to control their own educations as much as they think they are. Some where along the line they will have to learn to deal with people in authority, learn to follow rules, and other things that school teaches but that are not part of the standardized tests.
Chris,
I’d like to respond to the points you made one at a time, but we didn’t start
a school that was "easier" than regular high school. All of our students
will say that it is academically harder than traditional high school. All of
our classes meet Wyoming state standards, and most exceed the standards. We
offer a large catalog that most small high schools in Wyoming can’t offer. We
offer an alternative to traditional HS where a lot of our students don’t do
well socially or behaviorly. All of our students are considered "at-risk"
for being drop outs and most of them have been drop outs at one time or another.
We are not dealing with the top 10-25% of students who want an extra challenge
or find a traditional HS boring. We are dealing with the kids who disappear
from your class and no one ever knows what happens to them after that.
It is easier because you don’t have to worry about doing the same
thing at the same time everyday.
During our first semester we didn’t have any rules about when students
worked on certain classes, how much they got done, etc… We quickly learned
that our student body couldn’t budget their time and they needed structure.
In our school, there are blocks of time, usually an hour and thirty minutes
that are dedicated to the core four subjects. Students work on the math class
they are in during the math block, and so forth. Our teachers talk to our kids
everyday to make sure they are making progress in their classes. If they students
wants to work beyond the school day, that option is available, but during the
school day when they come into our building there is a schedule that is followed.
Students are only allowed to check personal email before 8:30, during the lunch
1/2 hour or after 3:30. During the "school day" it is all academics,
all the time.
It is easier because you don’t have to conform to rules and regulations
like no candy, a dress code, and other structures that students like to violate
on a daily basis.
We have rules and regulations. Students can’t eat or drink at their computer
station, bottled water is the exception. We share a campus with th K-8 building
so when the kids are in the lunch room, the follow the lunch room rules. When
they are in the library, they follow the library rules. When they are in the
HS building they follow the HS rules that include: not bothering other students,
keeping your music down to a level that only the student can hear it in their
headphones, no fighting, no cussing, etc.. This is standard HS stuff.
It is easier because most of the work is directly to the point, without
the embellishments that teachers add from time to time.
All of the work is directly to the point which doesn’t automatically make
it easier. There is no waiting for slower students to catch up before a teacher
moves on. The whole class isn’t waiting for a few students to "get with
the rest of us." Students can re-read content, take a quiz or a test on
the day they feel prepared, respond thoughtfully to a discussion question, research
a topic further, and so on. Students aren’t put on the spot with a on-the-spot
response from a rapid fire question. Other students and teachers don’t automatically
know what race they are, how much they weigh, what clique they fit into, the
is an equal playing field. This is the same in that I don’t know what you look
like, what race or sex you are. All I am dealing with is your opinion, nothing
else.
Finally, it is easier because they don’t have to deal with teachers,
they learn only as much as they want to at a time.
In our school, the student is in charge of thier learning and progress;
not the teacher. The student will only succeed if they do the work required
in the course. Our teachers won’t issue a grade below a "C." If the
work isn’t at least up to a "C" level, the student has to re-do the
assignment, quiz, discussion question, whatever it is. The student never fails
the course, it is just "incomplete" until it is completed. The responsibility
for learning lies 100% with the student. Teachers are there to guide, coach,
encourage, mentor, explain, and facalitate the students. But no grades are issued
until the student has completed the course to the "C" level. Our students
deal with at least two teachers for every class they take. There is an online
or virtual teacher who takes care of the nuts and bolts of the class like grading,
responding to student questions, etc… Then there are four other teachers in
our building (one for each core subject matter) who work with each and every
student who comes through the door on thier classes. Students don’t come to
our school to get away from teachers, they get a double or even triple dose.
In closing, I don’t think our courses or school is easier than traditional
high school. It is different and for almost all of our students, it is the last
shot they’ll take at high school. If they don’t succeed here, they will probably
drop out of HS for good. There are a ton of reasons why a particular student
doesn’t do well in a traditional high school. Only one of them is academic ability.
All of the other reasons have nothing to do with academics or wanting things
to be "easier" in an academic manner. And finially, we are the first
to admit that online learning isn’t for every kid. Some kids just don’t do well
in our school. We have had a lot of kids who started with use and realized that
"woah, I have to do all of the work, I can’t sit in the back of the class
and hope no one notices, I can’t pass this class until I complete every single
assignment to at least a "c" level…I’m going back to regular HS
where it is easier."