How effective is online school when compared to in person instruction?

Luke Rowen, Copy Editor

The‌ ‌picture‌ ‌above‌ ‌is‌ ‌a‌ ‌scene‌ ‌we‌ ‌are‌ ‌all‌ ‌very‌ ‌familiar‌ ‌with‌ ‌at‌ ‌this‌ ‌point.‌ ‌We‌ ‌roll‌ ‌out‌ ‌of‌ ‌bed,‌ ‌don’t‌ ‌eat‌ 
breakfast,‌ ‌and‌ ‌then,‌ ‌at‌ ‌8:00‌ ‌am,‌ ‌we‌ ‌plop‌ ‌down‌ ‌in‌ ‌front‌ ‌of‌ ‌the‌ ‌computer‌ ‌for‌ ‌the‌ ‌next‌ ‌two‌ ‌and‌ ‌a‌ ‌half‌ 
hours.‌ ‌What‌ ‌used‌ ‌to‌ ‌be‌ ‌strange‌ ‌and‌ ‌new‌ ‌is‌ ‌now‌ ‌becoming‌ ‌an‌ ‌integral‌ ‌part‌ ‌of‌ ‌our‌ ‌lives.‌  
Apps‌ ‌like‌ ‌Zoom‌ ‌and‌ ‌Google‌ ‌Meet‌ ‌have‌ ‌risen‌ ‌from‌ ‌relative‌ ‌anonymity‌ ‌to‌ ‌a‌ ‌sort‌ ‌of‌ ‌celebrity‌ 
status.‌ ‌So‌ ‌much‌ ‌has‌ ‌changed‌ ‌so‌ ‌quickly‌ ‌over‌ ‌the‌ ‌past‌ ‌year‌ ‌that‌ ‌it‌ ‌feels‌ ‌like‌ ‌there‌ ‌has‌ ‌been‌ ‌very‌ ‌little‌ 
room‌ ‌to‌ ‌reflect‌ ‌on‌ ‌these‌ ‌changes.‌ ‌This‌ ‌article‌ ‌aims‌ ‌to‌ ‌remedy‌ ‌that‌ ‌slightly‌ ‌and‌ ‌to‌ ‌analyze‌ ‌whether‌ 
online‌ ‌school‌ ‌or‌ ‌in-person‌ ‌instruction‌ ‌is‌ ‌more‌ ‌conducive‌ ‌for‌ ‌a‌ ‌healthy‌ ‌learning‌ ‌environment.‌ ‌To‌ ‌do‌ 
this,‌ ‌we‌ ‌will‌ ‌take‌ ‌a‌ ‌deeper‌ ‌look‌ ‌at‌ ‌the‌ ‌academic‌ ‌and‌ ‌social‌ ‌factors‌ ‌at‌ ‌play.‌ 
From‌ ‌a‌ ‌superficial‌ ‌perspective,‌ ‌a‌ ‌lot‌ ‌has‌ ‌changed‌ ‌academically.‌ ‌We‌ ‌went‌ ‌from‌ ‌physically‌ ‌being‌ 
in‌ ‌school‌ ‌from‌ ‌8:00‌ ‌to‌ ‌2:45‌ ‌each‌ ‌day‌ ‌to‌ ‌sitting‌ ‌in‌ ‌front‌ ‌of‌ ‌an‌ ‌iPad‌ ‌or‌ ‌computer‌ ‌from‌ ‌8:00‌ ‌to‌ ‌2:20,‌ ‌but‌ 
the‌ ‌real‌ ‌question‌ ‌is,‌ ‌has‌ ‌the‌ ‌effectiveness‌ ‌of‌ ‌school‌ ‌changed?‌ 
‌Maxwell‌ ‌Perdu,‌ ‌‘23,‌ ‌when‌ ‌asked‌ ‌how‌ ‌online‌ ‌school‌ ‌has‌ ‌affected‌ ‌him‌ ‌academically,‌ ‌said,‌ ‌“‌ ‌I‌ 
don’t‌ ‌think‌ ‌it‌ ‌has‌ ‌affected‌ ‌me‌ ‌academically‌ ‌per‌ ‌se.”‌ 
This‌ ‌viewpoint‌ ‌is‌ ‌consistent‌ ‌with‌ ‌research‌ ‌that‌ ‌has‌ ‌been‌ ‌done‌ ‌on‌ ‌the‌ ‌subject.‌ 
‌A‌ ‌study‌ ‌conducted‌ ‌by‌ ‌Marc‌ ‌Snyder‌ ‌of‌ ‌Ave‌ ‌Maria‌ ‌University‌ ‌in‌ ‌Florida‌ ‌found‌ ‌that‌ ‌students‌ 
who‌ ‌were‌ ‌homeschooled‌ ‌did‌ ‌not‌ ‌show‌ ‌a‌ ‌significant‌ ‌increase‌ ‌or‌ ‌decrease‌ ‌in‌ ‌measures‌ ‌such‌ ‌as‌ ‌average‌ 
SAT,‌ ‌ACT,‌ ‌and‌ ‌GPA‌ ‌during‌ ‌their‌ ‌freshman‌ ‌year‌ ‌of‌ ‌college‌ ‌when‌ ‌compared‌ ‌to‌ ‌students‌ ‌who‌ ‌received‌ 
in-person‌ ‌instruction.‌  
However,‌ ‌one‌ ‌aspect‌ ‌of‌ ‌this‌ ‌statistic‌ ‌is‌ ‌that‌ ‌we‌ ‌don’t‌ ‌know‌ ‌is‌ ‌how‌ ‌long‌ ‌the‌ ‌homeschooled‌ 
students‌ ‌received‌ ‌online‌ ‌instruction.‌ ‌It’s‌ ‌possible‌ ‌that‌ ‌this‌ ‌could‌ ‌change‌ ‌if‌ ‌the‌ ‌students‌ ‌studied‌ ‌were‌ ‌at‌ 
traditional‌ ‌school‌ ‌until‌ ‌tenth‌ ‌grade‌ ‌then‌ ‌switched‌ ‌to‌ ‌online,‌ ‌but,‌ ‌based‌ ‌on‌ ‌the‌ ‌current‌ ‌research,‌ ‌it‌ 
appears‌ ‌that,‌ ‌academically,‌ ‌there‌ ‌is‌ ‌no‌ ‌significant‌ ‌difference‌ ‌between‌ ‌online‌ ‌school‌ ‌and‌ ‌in-person‌ 
instruction.‌ 
Conversely,‌ ‌many‌ ‌of‌ ‌us‌ ‌have‌ ‌likely‌ ‌found‌ ‌the‌ ‌lack‌ ‌of‌ ‌social‌ ‌interaction‌ ‌caused‌ ‌by‌ ‌our‌ ‌not‌ ‌being‌ 
in‌ ‌school‌ ‌to‌ ‌be‌ ‌emotionally‌ ‌taxing‌ ‌and‌ ‌significantly‌ ‌different‌ ‌in‌ ‌online‌ ‌school.‌ 
Perdu‌ ‌put‌ ‌it‌ ‌best‌ ‌when‌ ‌he‌ ‌said,‌ ‌“I‌ ‌just‌ ‌feel‌ ‌very‌ ‌disconnected‌ ‌and‌ ‌it‌ ‌[has]‌ ‌just‌ ‌made‌ ‌me‌ ‌kind‌ ‌of‌ 
unmotivated.”‌  
This‌ ‌is‌ ‌a‌ ‌sentiment‌ ‌all‌ ‌of‌ ‌us‌ ‌relate‌ ‌to.‌ ‌Seeing‌ ‌friends‌ ‌has‌ ‌turned‌ ‌from‌ ‌an‌ ‌everyday‌ ‌occurence‌ ‌to‌ ‌a‌ 
special‌ ‌occurrence,‌ ‌and‌ ‌while‌ ‌apps‌ ‌such‌ ‌as‌ ‌GroupMe‌ ‌and‌ ‌iMessage‌ ‌help,‌ ‌it‌ ‌still‌ ‌doesn’t‌ ‌replace‌ 
face-to-face‌ ‌interaction.‌  
A‌ ‌rapid‌ ‌review‌ ‌conducted‌ ‌by‌ ‌Shirley‌ ‌Reynolds,‌ ‌PhD,‌ ‌and‌ ‌Esther‌ ‌Crawley,‌ ‌PhD,‌ ‌found‌ ‌that‌ 
prolonged‌ ‌periods‌ ‌of‌ ‌social‌ ‌isolation‌ ‌in‌ ‌teens‌ ‌and‌ ‌adolescents‌ ‌caused‌ ‌increased‌ ‌risk‌ ‌of‌ ‌depression‌ ‌and‌ 
possible‌ ‌anxiety.‌ ‌While‌ ‌more‌ ‌research‌ ‌would‌ ‌need‌ ‌to‌ ‌be‌ ‌conducted‌ ‌to‌ ‌account‌ ‌for‌ ‌this‌ ‌peculiar‌ 
situation‌ ‌in‌ ‌order‌ ‌to‌ ‌come‌ ‌to‌ ‌scientific‌ ‌consensus,‌ ‌it‌ ‌appears‌ ‌that‌ ‌the‌ ‌isolation‌ ‌caused‌ ‌by‌ ‌COVID-19‌ 
does‌ ‌have‌ ‌an‌ ‌adverse‌ ‌effect‌ ‌on‌ ‌the‌ ‌mental‌ ‌health‌ ‌of‌ ‌teens‌ ‌and‌ ‌adolescents.‌ 
To‌ ‌summarize,‌ ‌while‌ ‌online‌ ‌school‌ ‌appears‌ ‌to‌ ‌be‌ ‌just‌ ‌as‌ ‌good‌ ‌as‌ ‌in-person‌ ‌instruction,‌ ‌the‌ 
isolation‌ ‌caused‌ ‌by‌ ‌it‌ ‌has‌ ‌an‌ ‌adverse‌ ‌effect‌ ‌on‌ ‌students’‌ ‌mental‌ ‌health.‌ ‌It‌ ‌is‌ ‌with‌ ‌this‌ ‌information‌ ‌that,‌ 
from‌ ‌a‌ ‌purely‌ ‌academic‌ ‌and‌ ‌social‌ ‌standpoint,‌ ‌a‌ ‌balance‌ ‌of‌ ‌online‌ ‌and‌ ‌traditional‌ ‌school‌ ‌may‌ ‌be‌ ‌most‌ 
effective‌ ‌for‌ ‌creating‌ ‌a‌ ‌healthy‌ ‌learning‌ ‌environment‌ ‌.‌