Idaho proved once again that education is not high on its list of priorities.
Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Luna’s push to mandate that all high school students take online classes as part of graduation requirements passed Thursday after more than a year of advocating and revising the bill.
The bill requires each student in the state of Idaho to take two credits of online classes. It is the last in a series of bills Luna has been pushing that increase the presence of technology in high school classrooms. The technology component alone does not necessarily seem like a bad idea, but several teaching positions will be lost and reduced in the process. Online classes will not solve this problem.
In Idaho, now more than ever, it is time to focus on the importance of teachers and the benefits they provide students in high school. The four years of high school are crucial in determining how students progress in their education. Teachers provide encouragement and are the mentors students need as they strive for higher education and find their niche in the workforce.
Reducing the in-person factor with online classes will ultimately hurt students, which contradicts Luna’s main reason for adding the requirement. Luna said requiring high school students to take online classes will prepare them for college. In college, however, students aren’t required to take online classes and those offered aren’t worth it.
True education and learning is lost when the only means of obtaining information is from a computer screen. Invaluable education and learning lie in the creative ways teachers explain concepts, use examples and allow students to ask questions. The environment and setting of a classroom – whether a large lecture hall or 30-person room — stimulates learning, conversation and understanding that cannot be created in a virtual setting.
Teachers are the most valuable assets to education. When it comes to learning, they are the vessels that transport information. It is not about a textbook, slideshow, website links or even a supplementary web forum — it is about putting students in a position to succeed.
Success does not come solely from a computer screen feeding endless information. The information doesn’t mean anything without someone there to explain it.
Luna might think online classes will help high school students prepare for college, but college isn’t online — it is a physical, hands-on experience and only face-to-face interaction can prepare them for that.