For the past three years, schools have been offering more and more online class options. This is due to the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020. While it was understandable to move classes online during that time, the pandemic is pretty much over. People are returning to society and going back to their normal routines. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said about colleges.
When registering for college classes, one thing that many students look for is sitting in an actual classroom, surrounded by their peers. There’s an actual lecture to listen to and maybe some group discussions. I believe that online classes have been harmful, not only to community college students but to college students everywhere. It takes away the experiences that come from sitting in a physical classroom and learning with fellow students. It’s also a common fact that many students, myself included, learn better in person rather than online. We as humans were created to have that social interaction. Going to school and meeting new people is a huge part of that. If we continue to do purely online classes, we are taking away that human need.
One thing that I’ve noticed when registering for classes, is that there are three categories. You have ‘on campus fully seated, hybrid, and traditional online’. The thing that bothers me here, is the use of the word traditional. Online classes aren’t ‘traditional’. They weren’t even a huge thing until 2020. Sure, they’ve been around for a lot longer, but they didn’t become as prominent until three years ago. Sure, you have hybrid classes, which are a combination of both online and fully seated. However, they are rare and still aren’t as effective. With a hybrid class, you are only going to said class every so often. Otherwise, you’re still doing work from home on a computer. The only way we can get real education is through in-person courses.
Naturally, having a few online classes is okay. Sometimes the more non-traditional students need them. However, they shouldn’t be the type of class that is most offered in college. So many students have tried to talk against having this many online options. However, we aren’t being heard. We miss the days of sitting next to like-minded students and having group discussions. We miss seeing the faces of our peers. Consider this a call to try and fix this issue. The dominance of online classes has gone on for far too long.
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