Online Learning: Why We Can’t Let the “New Normal” Become Normal
Stephanie Samsel ‘21 News Editor
On March 13, Howard County’s staff and students began what has been over nine months of conducting most — if not all — of their academic businesses virtually. In the beginning, it was understandable that no one foresaw the in-person closure surpassing two weeks; after all, not much was known about the coronavirus, so the most logical course of action was to wait until scientists revealed the extent to which it threatened the community and (more importantly) how to respond in a safe, productive manner. It is now December, with the first three quarters of school having been ruled to be completely virtual. If the aforementioned questions were still left unanswered, the current method of strictly online learning would be understandable. Keyword: If. The infamously called upon science has provided answers, and it is worth noting that none of them include “virtual instruction,” let alone lockdowns.
For months, the argument in favor of online learning and lockdown measures alike has been founded on the idea that the greater extent by which one social distances, the safer one is. But is that true? At Brigham and Women’s Hospital, researchers |
HANOVER, MARYLAND, October 21, 2020- The social isolation of online learning has had debilitating effects on the mental, emotional, behavioral and physical well-being of students and staff. STEPHANIE SAMSEL/ LION’S TALE
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collected evidence that supports the “hygiene hypothesis”: the idea that individuals who are exposed to germs in childhood develop better immunity. They found that unlike young mice living in an unaltered environment with microbes, the germ-free counterparts “had exaggerated inflammation of the lungs and colon resembling asthma and colitis.” This resembles the counterproductive flaw of children residing at home, where microbiomes remain nearly stagnant: Lockdowns do not strengthen immunity, they merely delay inevitable transmission upon reconciliation long-term. According to the International Journal of Molecular Medicine, “A weakened immune system appears to be the main determinant of serious/fatal reaction to [COVID-19] infection.” The verdict: Coronavirus cases themselves are not to be feared; however, hyperactive immune systems in response to the virus are. For students in grades K-12 without preexisting conditions, virtual learning only serves as an inexcusable inhibitor to their daily quality of life.
On July 20, the CDC reported, “Children and adolescents under 18 years old account for under 7% of COVID-19 cases and less than 0.1% of COVID-19-related deaths.” Make no mistake: Every death is and should be considered tragic. What is disconcerting, however, is that the mere contraction of illness -- an inevitable part of every life -- is being equated to said tragedy when the likelihood of a child’s death due to the coronavirus is far less than “each of the last five flu seasons,” as well as the H1N1 pandemic. Out of the 9,000 HCPSS staff members, only 11% fall under the age demographic most vulnerable to the virus, with Howard County having one of the lowest numbers of cases in central Maryland. During a White House coronavirus task force briefing, CDC Director Robert Redfield stated, “The infections we have identified in the schools…were not acquired in schools. They were acquired in the community and the household.” Sacrificing mental, emotional and social stability for unnecessary fear and strained hours in front of computer screens is unacceptable.
It is important to note that the coronavirus is not the only threat to well-being. As many students and staff will attest — alongside the findings of the Royal Society for Public Health — long-term virtual models are incapable of soothing the harmful effects of sensory deprivation that take a toll on not just academic motivation, but satisfaction in relationships and the maintenance of overall health. “I think that connection piece, both staff wise and student wise, is just what we’re missing the most,” shares Ms. Pappadeas, one of Howard High’s guidance counselors. “I really feel for people who might be new students this year, and may not know anyone else, or our incoming ninth graders — I imagine how difficult the transition to high school already is — let’s add the layer of we haven’t gotten to meet face-to-face yet.” In an HCPSS survey issued before the Board of Education’s ruling for a virtual first-semester, ⅙ of parents said they would need child care support if there was a distance learning model. Out of the county’s 6,000 staff members, many have experienced the added stress of having to micromanage their own children’s academic performance at home. In a truly equitable solution for the community, attacks on work-life balance, a skill many cite as fundamental to their prosperity, would never be imposed. Where does one draw the line between what is collateral damage and what is “considerate” of one aspect of physical health?
What is most surprising is not that 40% of U.S. adults reported in June that they struggled with mental health or substance abuse, nor that there is an increase in suicidal ideation among young adults, nor that a “second wave” of disorders (e.g., prolonged grief, major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder) is reported by the medical journal JAMA to be on the rise, but rather that the freedom to explore treatment options has been abolished, leaving it up to representatives alone to decide how one lives his or her life rather than the individual in question. It is hypocritical to preach about being accomodating to health concerns when virtual protocols ignore quality treatment for pre-existing, life-threatening conditions, exacerbating suffering. Ms. Stark, Howard’s nurse, asserts, “When you virtually see your doctor it’s really half of an appointment if you think about it because they can’t lay hands on you, they can’t listen to your heart sounds, your lung sounds, they can’t palpate your abdomen, they can’t — there are so many things that can’t happen. People can’t get mammograms, x-rays…there was a long period of time where that was all being pushed back.”
Contrary to what is being publicized, the argument for reopening schools is one of rational consideration for the well-being of students and staff: socially, behaviorally, emotionally and even physically. “In general, virtual learning has allowed students to shrink away… that’s not a good thing to happen especially because education and school are supposed to be a time where you are maturing: learning how to speak up in front of a class of 30 kids. You’re supposed to learn how to be presentable. That in itself could be emotionally scarring, maybe in the future when we will return to the norm and you will have to give a presentation maybe in college,” considers Elizabeth Banyas, the Executive President of Howard’s SGA. “Even if we work in breakout rooms, they’re not the same type of breakout rooms that we had before…[Students] don’t want to have their cameras on, we’re not working on the same paper in class, we’re not having class discussions in English classes. I love those,” she added earnestly.
The idea that closing schools will prevent further spread of the virus is misleading because it refuses to acknowledge the irrevocable risk of viral contraction that accompanies members of the community daily during errand runs, work shifts, visits with friends and family and doctor’s appointments. Naturally, one question should emerge: How would a hybrid model “jeopardize” the community’s safety when it would implement the same precautionary regulations as other essential businesses in session? In a poll by the Howard County Education Association, over 90% of educators rated personal protective equipment and hygiene supplies such as soap, hand sanitizer and tissues as very important in a return to school, a concern that can be easily addressed. More notably, 97% of educators responded that given the choice, they would not retire, resign nor take a leave of absence under a hybrid model. Rather than subject 60,000 students and 9,000 staff members to the same futile attempts of “stopping the spread,” HCPSS should focus on protecting our most vulnerable by allowing them to receive virtual instruction while keeping the education system and safety of tens of thousands afloat.
Fortunately, it is not too late to have a better semblance of normalcy for the rest of the school year. Whether it is for the kindergartner who wonders if this is how school will always operate, or the one out of four HoCo families struggling to make ends meet, or the high schooler who has been pulling all-nighters for a month to get assignments turned in on time, we must speak up for change. Exercise your right to protest, and you may just have something besides the debilitating effects of online learning and social isolation to look forward to.
On July 20, the CDC reported, “Children and adolescents under 18 years old account for under 7% of COVID-19 cases and less than 0.1% of COVID-19-related deaths.” Make no mistake: Every death is and should be considered tragic. What is disconcerting, however, is that the mere contraction of illness -- an inevitable part of every life -- is being equated to said tragedy when the likelihood of a child’s death due to the coronavirus is far less than “each of the last five flu seasons,” as well as the H1N1 pandemic. Out of the 9,000 HCPSS staff members, only 11% fall under the age demographic most vulnerable to the virus, with Howard County having one of the lowest numbers of cases in central Maryland. During a White House coronavirus task force briefing, CDC Director Robert Redfield stated, “The infections we have identified in the schools…were not acquired in schools. They were acquired in the community and the household.” Sacrificing mental, emotional and social stability for unnecessary fear and strained hours in front of computer screens is unacceptable.
It is important to note that the coronavirus is not the only threat to well-being. As many students and staff will attest — alongside the findings of the Royal Society for Public Health — long-term virtual models are incapable of soothing the harmful effects of sensory deprivation that take a toll on not just academic motivation, but satisfaction in relationships and the maintenance of overall health. “I think that connection piece, both staff wise and student wise, is just what we’re missing the most,” shares Ms. Pappadeas, one of Howard High’s guidance counselors. “I really feel for people who might be new students this year, and may not know anyone else, or our incoming ninth graders — I imagine how difficult the transition to high school already is — let’s add the layer of we haven’t gotten to meet face-to-face yet.” In an HCPSS survey issued before the Board of Education’s ruling for a virtual first-semester, ⅙ of parents said they would need child care support if there was a distance learning model. Out of the county’s 6,000 staff members, many have experienced the added stress of having to micromanage their own children’s academic performance at home. In a truly equitable solution for the community, attacks on work-life balance, a skill many cite as fundamental to their prosperity, would never be imposed. Where does one draw the line between what is collateral damage and what is “considerate” of one aspect of physical health?
What is most surprising is not that 40% of U.S. adults reported in June that they struggled with mental health or substance abuse, nor that there is an increase in suicidal ideation among young adults, nor that a “second wave” of disorders (e.g., prolonged grief, major depressive disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder) is reported by the medical journal JAMA to be on the rise, but rather that the freedom to explore treatment options has been abolished, leaving it up to representatives alone to decide how one lives his or her life rather than the individual in question. It is hypocritical to preach about being accomodating to health concerns when virtual protocols ignore quality treatment for pre-existing, life-threatening conditions, exacerbating suffering. Ms. Stark, Howard’s nurse, asserts, “When you virtually see your doctor it’s really half of an appointment if you think about it because they can’t lay hands on you, they can’t listen to your heart sounds, your lung sounds, they can’t palpate your abdomen, they can’t — there are so many things that can’t happen. People can’t get mammograms, x-rays…there was a long period of time where that was all being pushed back.”
Contrary to what is being publicized, the argument for reopening schools is one of rational consideration for the well-being of students and staff: socially, behaviorally, emotionally and even physically. “In general, virtual learning has allowed students to shrink away… that’s not a good thing to happen especially because education and school are supposed to be a time where you are maturing: learning how to speak up in front of a class of 30 kids. You’re supposed to learn how to be presentable. That in itself could be emotionally scarring, maybe in the future when we will return to the norm and you will have to give a presentation maybe in college,” considers Elizabeth Banyas, the Executive President of Howard’s SGA. “Even if we work in breakout rooms, they’re not the same type of breakout rooms that we had before…[Students] don’t want to have their cameras on, we’re not working on the same paper in class, we’re not having class discussions in English classes. I love those,” she added earnestly.
The idea that closing schools will prevent further spread of the virus is misleading because it refuses to acknowledge the irrevocable risk of viral contraction that accompanies members of the community daily during errand runs, work shifts, visits with friends and family and doctor’s appointments. Naturally, one question should emerge: How would a hybrid model “jeopardize” the community’s safety when it would implement the same precautionary regulations as other essential businesses in session? In a poll by the Howard County Education Association, over 90% of educators rated personal protective equipment and hygiene supplies such as soap, hand sanitizer and tissues as very important in a return to school, a concern that can be easily addressed. More notably, 97% of educators responded that given the choice, they would not retire, resign nor take a leave of absence under a hybrid model. Rather than subject 60,000 students and 9,000 staff members to the same futile attempts of “stopping the spread,” HCPSS should focus on protecting our most vulnerable by allowing them to receive virtual instruction while keeping the education system and safety of tens of thousands afloat.
Fortunately, it is not too late to have a better semblance of normalcy for the rest of the school year. Whether it is for the kindergartner who wonders if this is how school will always operate, or the one out of four HoCo families struggling to make ends meet, or the high schooler who has been pulling all-nighters for a month to get assignments turned in on time, we must speak up for change. Exercise your right to protest, and you may just have something besides the debilitating effects of online learning and social isolation to look forward to.