In the day and age of electronics and our fast paced world, you
would think that online schooling would be the choice of school for most people.
First of all, who has the time to actually
drive to the school and sit in a class for 2 hours then drive home? We have spinning class, grocery shopping, work,
yoga, errands, and work again… all in the same day. Physically going to school sounds too exhausting.
I know many
people feel that online schooling is “a piece of cake” and that there is little
work to be done, but it is my experience it is just the opposite. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed with the amount of
work I need to get done in such a short period of time. There are participation deadlines to meet and an
assignment every week. Emailing the teacher
with questions and then waiting for a response can get frustrating. While most instructors are very good about responding
quickly, it’s not the same because I wanted to finish the assignment now, but I
can’t until I get my question answered.
Traditional
schooling can be just as frustrating with deadlines and assignments due, however
the teacher is there face to face. Students
interact with each other face to face and get the experience of “human contact”
and learn to enhance social skills.
The question
of which is better is hard to answer. Each
person has different needs and different circumstances. A young freshly graduated high school student may
benefit more from traditional schooling. Since many “beginners” are really just getting
out of their shell and out into the real world, they need to learn social skills
for the career they are intending on pursuing. Traditional school gives a person opportunity to
enhance social skills and to also learn coping skills.
Online schooling
offers convenience to a busy person. Many
people cannot afford to quit their employment to continue an education. Many online students also have families at home
that they are taking care of and going to traditional school (along with work, etc)
would take away much needed time that needs to be spent elsewhere. Since online schooling can be done in the comfort
of your own home, a person may not feel like they are gone from home all the time.
Both traditional
schooling and online schooling each have their own kinds of benefits which need
to be weighed out and researched when a person is looking into going to school for
the first time, or continuing an education that was started years ago.
