permission to print image: Gale
This school year has been very different for many students: wearing masks at school, social distancing everywhere and plexiglass boards separating one another in classrooms and in the cafeteria. Schools are taking these steps to contain COVID-19 throughout the school in hopes to keep students in the building and keep the teachers teaching.
Administrators in each district have their own opinion on what they think is the best way to learn in the middle of a global pandemic. Some say it is best to go full time online and keep students out of classrooms; others think that students need to be in the school five days a week just like normal while others believe that students should get the best of both worlds and have a hybrid schedule with some school at school and some school at home.
All districts should be on a hybrid schedule.
One reason that I like the hybrid style of learning is that students can experience online classes. This type of learning holds students accountable for their own work, according to Christine Greenhow of msu.edu.
“Online learning can be as good or even better than in-person classroom learning. Research has shown that students in online learning performed better than those receiving face-to-face instruction, but it has to be done right. The best online learning combines elements where students go at their own pace, on their own time, and are set up to think deeply and critically about subject matter combined with elements where students go online at the same time and interact with other students, their teacher and content,” according to msu.edu.
Another reason that schools should use a hybrid schedule is because it still gives students the opportunity to be social with other students and to make new friends while at school.
“Social skills learning improves students’ communication with peers and adults, improves cooperative teamwork and helps them become effective, caring, concerned members of their communities. At the same time it teaches them how to set and achieve individual goals and persistence, skills that are important for their successful development into adulthood, work and life,” according to power-solving.com.
Finally, hybrid schedules should be used because it can allow students and teachers to be flexible with their classwork and gives students the opportunity to prepare for college when they will be responsible for all of their work to be done on time and to be worked on in their own personal time.
“Studying online teaches you vital time management skills, which makes finding a good work-study balance easier. Having a common agenda between the student and teacher can also prompt both parties to accept new responsibilities and have more autonomy.” according to conahec.org
In order to switch to a hybrid schedule, petition or write district officials with the support of other community members in order to encourage a restructuring of the schedule.
