In some areas of the country there has already been a Zoom boom as schools have started back . . . err, an attempt is being made for have children return to school from the confines of their bedroom, dining room, kitchen, etc. To many this seems like an oxymoron as although children are returning to something, this something is far from school.
This past week our ultra-liberal “newspaper” had a community forum of sorts on the topic of “Virtual Learning.” There were four 500 word essays from ordinary people scattered around San Diego County. I read every one of these word for word. There was not one positive comment in all of these essays, even though each essay focused on different aspects of this issue. The only hint of a positive came from a teacher in a large, public charter school. She expressed hope that this form of “schooling” would provide some benefit in the future . . . and this was the closest to anything positive that I could see. The best essay describing “the horror of distance learning” (the authors exact words, not mine) had to do with the lack of socialization, which he described as not a luxury, but a necessity for small children. The other essays had to do with the poor design . . . “the system is poorly designed and seriously flawed,” as well as the stress virtual learning puts on parent-child relationships.
One online comment on this topic summed it up in a nutshell:
“When I hear of a positive experience, I will post it. The entire experience has been negative . . .” He further added that hopefully after the election when no one cares about it anymore, this silly business will be over. (“silly business” -again the writer’s words, not mine.)
From my point of view the saddest part about all of this school silly business is that those among us who are the least fortunate are suffering the most right now and they will also pay the highest price over the long term.