Nothing has challenged and enriched my understanding of education and the variables that affect student opportunities more than being a mom.
With one of my sons about to wrap up eighth grade in a brick-and-mortar school and the other about to finish his sophomore year in an online school, I’ve seen education anew through their experiences, and I’m writing to share 5 shifts in my perspective on education.
First, the institution of school is not as fixed as we may have thought. When most of us think back on our time as students, we remember physical places in which we spent large blocks of our days, teachers we interacted with, and friends we made in the shared experience of learning in a common location. Despite the devastation and disruptions to learning it caused, COVID-19 challenged the idea that learning is best realized through physical means. My older son will look back on this year and reflect similarly to students in brick-and-mortar schools, but he’s also benefited in ways unique to online learning.
Second, seemingly simple differences can profoundly impact physical and mental aspects of learning. For example, aligning to a more natural sleep-wake cycle, eating smaller, more frequent meals, and the freedom to take physical activity breaks and change settings when needed. Learning happens when there is social, emotional, biological, and cognitive balance, and online learning offers a wider range of options through which students can make choices that enable them to learn in ways that work best for them.
Third, technology does not inherently limit participation – it can enable it. Recorded video lessons have made taking notes less critical. Instead of devoting energy to simultaneously comprehending and taking notes, students can focus on listening and discussing, knowing they can return to videos later. Re-watching videos allows students to toggle within material, stop to practice in real-time alongside instruction, and set their own pace. Further, in technology- enabled live virtual sessions, educators use functions like polling and breakout rooms to engage students in ways that are often time-consuming in person.
Next, online schools overcome geographic limitations and can enhance diversity. This increases the potential for students to access great courses and curricula to meet their needs and brings together learners unhindered by geography to contribute diverse perspectives. Without geographic limitations there is also a more expansive source of teachers, including those wanting more flexibility in their careers.
Lastly, the other side of enhanced flexibility is time management. While there are many reasons families choose online school, one recurring theme is flexibility to support outside interests, which can become the important foundation for in person social and emotional learning. I‘ve seen how the flexible daily schedule between synchronous and asynchronous work has pushed my sophomore to be thoughtful and forward-looking, maintain a calendar, and manage priorities in order to balance rigorous academics with national team basketball. Many brick-and-mortar schools utilize class periods and notification bells to scaffold a daily schedule. Without this organizing structure, students create structures that work for them–a skill they will carry forward into their professional and personal lives.
Many people are surprised when I come out in favor of online high school, especially considering personal experiences during pandemic school shutdowns and shifts to remote learning. Prior to this year, I would have been surprised as well. As a parent and school board member during that period, online school was at its best disruptive and at its worst ineffective. I want to be clear: online high school isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution. It has challenges and limitations, and there are aspects of equity we must overcome to ensure quality learning is accessible to all.
But as I reflect on this past year, I can’t help but feel optimistic about the innovations and adaptations educators are making and the vast array of technologies enabling inclusive and dynamic learning experiences. It’s remarkable to witness, and as someone who supports educational opportunities for refugees and women and girls around the globe, I see the extraordinary potential this way of learning can have for students everywhere.
If you are an educator, parent, policy maker, entrepreneur or just curious, please see some resources here about online education in the K-12 space
https://www.onlineschools.org/high-school/
https://onlinehighschool.stanford.edu/how
https://achievevirtual.org/blog/student-resources/8-tips-to-help-you-succeed-in-online-high-school/
https://yourteenmag.com/teenager-school/teens-high-school/tips-for-online-school
About the author: Srishti Gupta Narasimhan (AB ‘97 AM ‘97 MD ‘03 MPP ‘03) is passionate about learning, global health equity, and educational opportunity. She is a parent, physician, school board member, and candidate for the Harvard Board of Overseers.