Online school presents challenges for students being online all day. There is no question that this unforeseeable no in personschool situation AHS is currently facing is complicated. But there are ways for students and teachers to work together to make this experience as enjoyable as possible. Sitting on a computer all day isn’t ideal or the most effective way for teens to learn and teachers to teach. Not to mention the mental toll staring at a screen takes on minds, causing a range of problems like insomnia and headaches. Currently, there is no other way to producively learn without computers, so everyone must adapt. Although this poses conflict there is a way to help with the problem of being online for six or more hours a day. Teachers must try to think of new ways to assign homework that allows students to get off their screens while completing assignments at the end of the day.
Rather than asking students to do even more work on a computer at home after doing a long day of school, administrators should implement alternative routes for students to do work. Change and variation in one’s life is important so daily activities don’t become draining and tedious. Mixing up paper assignments and online work can be a great way to vary a student’s routine and engage the brain in new ways. For instance, an English teacher could give the option for students to handwrite assignments or send out worksheets for students to print. Math teachers could give out hard copies of textbooks for students to work out of rather than providing an online version.
Small adjustments like these can make all the difference in a students general well being and attitude towards school. Some factors that make online school difficult are unavoidable, such as being home all day or not seeing friends in person but getting kids off of screens is very doable. Understandably, teachers have lesson plans and are unable to adhere to all the requests of students. Along with this getting everyone completely off screens all the time isn’t realistic. But when it is possible, teachers should make it a priority to get teens off of screens when it comes to homework.