Opinion Article
By: Norah Fleming Editor in Chief Sept. 2, 2023 To me there is nothing better than sharpening a pencil, flipping the page of a book, or punching numbers into the calculator. Something about doing things in person, in the moment, helps me understand, relate and truly learn. However, that was not the case when I decided to take two classes, and two graduation requirements over Edgenuity. I thought to myself Online class? Should be a piece of cake! How wrong I was. Making the switch was easy enough. Exchanging my fourth period class for an excel class, I had no issue switching periods. However, the issue arose when I realized I had to switch the way I learned. For me, I am a blend of kinesthetic, auditory, and visual learner. After changing to Edgenuity I gave all of that up for a dark screen with ancient looking videos. It was not horrible though, I was able to use any notes I took on tests. Redo as many assignments as I needed to, and for some classes I even got the chance to pretest and skip out on entire lessons. I quickly learned there was a bright side, but that was before I saw the dark. |
I began to struggle with comprehending, something I had never seen issues with before. Watching the videos did not hold my attention nearly as well as a teacher in class would have, and I found myself daydreaming and zoning out. There was no teacher to host in class discussion, something I have always benefitted from and there were also no classmates to compare notes and ideas with. I began to miss my in class education. All it meant however, was I needed to work harder. Two classes in one period is no easy feat, and while I have yet to finish either I realized that Edgenuity is not for me. I can see the benefit, and how students who are the opposite of myself would benefit from the quiet, concentrated environment. There is an atmosphere that surrounds the classroom, and it is a great opportunity for credit-deficient students to catch up but in the end I would say that Edgenuity is not meant for all. If you have the chance to learn in person and not fall behind of your peers credit-wise then take it. If you are like myself, someone who needed to double up to prepare for the future then understand that you need to adapt to this new way of learning.
Overall, Edgenuity is a good program, only for those who need it. Staying in class, and staying caught up means that there is no chance of falling behind and being pushed into the small quiet classrooms. Teachers are meant to teach, not sit at a desk and click a button. Edgenuity, while it allows individuals to catch up, deprives students of an interactive, enjoyable education and deprives teachers of being able to do their job. In a perfect world, we wouldn’t need it, but for now it does its job. |