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Many things can be true at once:
-Designing and teaching online courses is more time-intensive for faculty than classroom teaching
-Students might still find this mode less appealing or rewarding
-Some in-person classes aren't very good
-Some online classes are great.
-Designing and teaching online courses is more time-intensive for faculty than classroom teaching
-Students might still find this mode less appealing or rewarding
-Some in-person classes aren't very good
-Some online classes are great.
-Faculty are working harder without extra pay
-Students are feeling like they're getting less from the schools because so many resources are off limits.
-School is not affordable
-The $$ isn't going to your profs thanks to adjunctification and salary deflation.
-Students are feeling like they're getting less from the schools because so many resources are off limits.
-School is not affordable
-The $$ isn't going to your profs thanks to adjunctification and salary deflation.
-It's possible to teach well using technology, but that doesn't mean nothing is lost.
For many students, college is not just school; it's a transition period from childhood and life with parents to adulthood and independence.
For many students, college is not just school; it's a transition period from childhood and life with parents to adulthood and independence.
Teaching 1st-year students, I've learned that the college transition is about much more than course work. It's time management, self-regulation, adjusting to a new community, being what I call "the Dean of me."
That process should hopefully start in high school, but...
That process should hopefully start in high school, but...
...our high school students are seeing their process of differentiation and independence cut off due to public health necessity. I read a lot (not enough!) about our child care crisis for very young kids, but the teens are missing something big too.
I'm concerned about the risks of bringing people together in face-to-face settings.
But I also know that for many students, going home increased their risk. And for some college students, home does not even exist.
For others, return to family means return to the closet.
But I also know that for many students, going home increased their risk. And for some college students, home does not even exist.
For others, return to family means return to the closet.
I've typed and erased a conclusion to this thread multiple times. I don't know what the lesson is. Probably that I- much like admins, staff, and students- can't conjure perfection out of imperfect circumstances. It's just going to be hard. So we should be kind. //
Coda: I disagree with the advice to take gap years. I don't think it accurately reflects what's available to students, what colleges can accomplish with distance or hybrid learning, nor the fact that we might be in this for the very long haul.
First, absolutely fantastic education can happen through remote technology (and really crappy education can be face to face, TBH). But I do believe distance learning can be rigorous, fun, and effective.
If I didn't believe this, I wouldn't do it.
If I didn't believe this, I wouldn't do it.
Second, I don't think it's great to advise a young person to work in food service or retail or some high-risk occupation because college is less fun/connected/communal with public health precautions built in. And other opportunities are limited, and come at a cost too.
And finally, I don't want to bring anyone further down, but it's possible that we're in this for more than a year. And meanwhile there are things to be learned, and life to live. I'm not a fan of pretending life is on hold. This *is* life.
I'm also not a fan of heavy student debt, nor do I believe that the most expensive schools are necessarily the "best" ones, whatever that means. But if a school was worth your time and investment before, it's quite likely still worth it now.
If your college decided (as mine has done) to limit campus access and emphasize online learning, it's because they care enough about you and the people who work with you (hi there!) to do the harder thing, even if it pisses everyone off. And that's a community worth being in. //
