You’ve probably heard about the global pandemic and maybe have even had to experience online schooling yourself. Many schools in the world went to virtual learning in the 2020-2021 school year. Because of the severity of the pandemic,  students in K-12 were sent to do online schooling for the whole school year. During this change throughout the whole school year for most schools in America, students were each individually affected by this change, negatively and some positively.

While some students faced the easier parts of CDL learning, others did not. Many students’ grades plummeted to the ground, which led to many failed classes over CDL. Without students being in person, the school was easy to get to. Rolling out of bed, not getting ready. It destroyed many students’ morning routines. In a house where they’re comfortable with many distractions around, students struggle to get work done. There is no one to tell them that they have to be doing certain assignments or helping them with one on one time. 

Another con was the change in how teachers were able to interact with their students. Teachers can’t interact with their students like they could if they were in person. There’s no face-to-face talk anymore, no real interactions. All they do is just sit on a screen and talk, which is followed by silence from students who didn’t care about school on the other side anymore. The teachers can’t adapt to their students as easily online. Without any physical interaction, students won’t be able to learn social skills in the real world, which also causes them to struggle academically. That gives negative feedback to the teachers. 

One good thing about CDL was the accessibility of it. It’s easy for everyone to use since most houses have internet access. Basically, students can open up a device, log on, and boom, they’re in school. Going online uses less paper,  which is better for the environment in total. Less paper, fewer trees used. Though some people prefer paper and will print out assignments, there would still be less paper use. That and less ink use. While printer ink is pretty expensive, teachers make hundreds of copies a day for their students. Without newer technology, we would probably use even more paper today with how many students there are. So with CDL, there are pros when it comes to environmental accessibility. 

One last con about CDL is the engagement. There is no real engagement with computers when it comes to some children. With kids being on a computer for school, that also gives them unsupervised internet access during the day. With many distracting sites, it takes away from their actual learning experience. Since there are many sites with games and other things that would bring a kid’s attention to that rather than paying attention to learning, this affects their future. You learn so many things you need to know in primary schools. When you’re young you learn to read and write. Your teachers would help and teach you how to hold a pencil or write these letters, but with CDL unfortunately those things aren’t an option. There is no physicality when it comes to online. Half the time kids don’t even show up. When this 2020 pandemic hit and schools were online, graduation percentages dropped immensely. With CDL there’s no accountability when it comes to classes, attendance, or even grades. There’s nobody to tell you that you’re doing something wrong. Taking this all into consideration, would you want your child in this, or not?