Category: Uncategorized

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On the first day of school lots of kids wonder the same few things. What will my classroom look like? Will my teacher be nice? Will I make any friends? I didn’t have to consider most of these questions because I knew the answer to almost all. I knew my classroom was the spare bedroom converted into a schoolroom. I knew my teacher would be nice since she was my mom. The only question I did have to wonder was would I make friends. But I wouldn’t wonder if I’d make friends at school, but if I would at my homeschool co-op. Since the first grade I’ve been homeschooled. For all of elementary school I called my mom teacher and my younger sister classmate. By the time I got to seventh grade however, my mom wanted me to be part of something that resembled a more traditional type of schooling. Enter in, Veritas Scholars Academy. This school, based out of Pennsylvania, was both traditional and not in many ways. The most untraditional part was that the school was all online. Live classes with teachers and students from all over the world fit onto a 13-inch screen. But I had homework, tests, and projects due just like everyone else. When COVID hit and the rest of the kids my age tried to figure out how to succeed with online classes, I already knew how.    

I knew how to manage my own time. I knew how to work a camera and mic and log into Adobe. I knew how to form connections and make friends over a screen. Something that most would see as potentially limiting, allowed me to excel when the world essentially “shut down”. Now, as a future educator my experience taught me many things, but most importantly that there isn’t just one right way to learn and teach. There are so many benefits to attending a Brick-and-Mortar school. The ability to easily get involved with sports, seeing your friends every day, having a schedule made for you are all amazing experiences one can get in a Brick-and-Mortar school. But online, you learn responsibility, how to create a successful schedule for yourself, and you get to have experiences you wouldn’t normally if you were in one building all day, every day. I remember one time I did math class from a beach in Florida. No way that would’ve happened if I went to a Brick-and-Mortar school. There are benefits and downsides with each type of educational environment and practice. 

Once I’m an educator I hope to teach in both types of school. I once had a teacher who spent twenty years in a traditional classroom before going virtual. He explained to me that having both experiences made him a better teacher. Each type of school taught him things he wouldn’t have learned if he’d stuck with just one or the other. My own educational journey showed me that sometimes taking the alternative route can be just as good as the typical one. There isn’t a correct way to teach or learn. Giving students the option to experience different types of schooling is something that I believe educators should provide. How we learn is so personal, so let’s set-up a classroom, virtual or in person, that supports each and every student.