In Their Element

I spend a lot of time pointing out the deficiencies of online education, but this week I noticed a unique benefit of the online school experience. Online school isn’t truly online; my students are learning from home. Students’ homes are the places where they spend most of their time and learn life lessons, and for this season it also gets to be the place where they have school.

When students are in online school, they get to learn from the comfort of home. I have personally noticed some of the benefits of working from home (snacks all day, setting your own room temperature, no commute), and I’m sure my students are feeling those benefits, too. However, there is also something powerful about students getting to learn in their own environment. My students keep asking me if they can go to the bathroom, and I tell them, “It’s your bathroom in your house, so you can go whenever you feel like it.” They get to choose where to sit and how to manage their time. I feel like my students feel more confident to push themselves academically because their environment is under their control.

Another benefit of the home environment is the contextualization of students. I have seen most of my students’ parents, baby siblings, and pets in our class calls at some point during the past two months. When I get to see my students at home, I am reminded that school is just a part of their lives. They have parents, siblings, and pets who love them and want to see them succeed.

To take advantage of that context, I have been giving my students lots of opportunities to share their favorite toys, the plants they are growing, or their latest art project in class. They need the socialization, and it honors the things that are part of their daily life. Before we know it, we will have to learn to manage a shared learning space. For now, my students get to experience this special season where they can learn subtraction while they pet their cats.

I think that’s something to celebrate.