Since the coronavirus outbreak, the United States has been trying to reduce the number of cases by making everybody follow safety protocol. This includes wearing a mask, staying six feet away from others, and most importantly, washing your hands. At the beginning of the global pandemic, most businesses had to shut down and all schools and colleges resorted to virtual learning. Now that the new school year has begun, some schools have either decided to keep virtual learning or give the students a choice to return back to school.

As for my parents, they chose for me to go to school virtually and honestly, I believe it’s more effective than going to school physically.

During the time of a pandemic outbreak, going to school seems like a pretty risky thing to do. When going to school virtually, people are keeping themselves extra safe by taking this additional step. This allows the number of cases to stay at a minimum while still being able to go to school. Since the closing of schools in mid-March, the U.S was able to lower Covid-19 incidences and mortality rates to about 128.7 fewer cases per 100 000 population over 26 days and with 1.5 fewer deaths per 100 000 population over 16 days. Now in other recent studies, going to school online could help the environment. Virtual learning has caused students to produce less carbon dioxide emissions by 90 percent. This is because students don’t have to drive back and forth so their carbon footprints and reduced while learning. Virtual learning also reduces the need for plastic, wood, and other nonrenewable resources and paper. So while staying at home, you’re actually keeping everything healthy, including the environment.

Learning online has helped kids retain their knowledge and learn more than they do in a traditional classroom setting. Student retention rates have increased by anywhere between 25% to 60%. Kids are most likely going to retain their knowledge because they can expand their thought process better and work at their own speed. This gives them more control over the material they’re learning.

Online learning definitely gives you a more flexible schedule allowing you to do more things that you want to do, such as, sleeping for an extra 20 minutes, eating whenever they please, exercising, etc. Whether you’re a slow learner or a fast learner, online learning just doesn’t require that much time investment. Going to school physically causes you to invest 8 hours of your day into learning. Online gives students the option of breaking up their time, instead of having to dedicate large chunks of their time into learning.

Although some might argue that online classes could cause kids to lose their social skills and make students more lazy and unmotivated, schools have made it a requirement to go to their zoom classes or Google Meets in order to understand the criteria and still acquire some type of communication from the outside world. Even though google meets and physical communication doesn’t feel the same, it’s better to have some type of communication than none at all. Also, kids are more likely to finish their work due to less stress and more time to finish their assignments throughout the day which makes kids less likely to feel unmotivated because they’re in control of their own learning.

I believe online schooling is a lot more effective than going to school because it allows kids to take control of their learning process while still keeping themselves and others safe during these troubling times. By allowing them to have a choice on how they want to go to school, you’re letting kids make choices for themselves while teaching them time management and encouraging them to do what they think is best for them. By reducing their distractions and finding simple solutions to little problems, such as communication, students are more willing to learn due to reduced stress levels and more encouragement.