Are Classrooms Necessary?

[Nakosis]

Do you feel the brick and mortar schools are a necessity or should we maybe invest in online schools?

I feel that health, education and welfare are important to any civilized country. My concern however is the cost.

IMO, brick and mortar schools plus educational staff are costly. Is there a benefit to keeping them around?

You could educate the people at a far less cost using online schooling. Less staff, more automation, more consistency in the curriculum.

Or is there something lacking in this scenario?

 

[Rival]

Kids need social interaction, not more screentime.

 

[exchemist]

Do you feel the brick and mortar schools are a necessity or should we maybe invest in online schools?

I feel that health, education and welfare are important to any civilized country. My concern however is the cost.

IMO, brick and mortar schools plus educational staff are costly. Is there a benefit to keeping them around?

You could educate the people at a far less cost using online schooling. Less staff, more automation, more consistency in the curriculum.

Or is there something lacking in this scenario?

No it would be a disaster and unimaginably dull and depressing for the students. We would breed a generation of badly educated social misfits. There is no substitute for learning with other lively minds. And in early days especially, a lot of what school does is teach children how to be civilised and caring members of society.

 

[ADigitalArtist]

Not every family is in the place of privilige where someone can be home all school day. Forcing all classes home could put serious financial strain on families. For the poor especially, schools provide supplies and equipment, even food that kids can't get at home.

 

[exchemist]

Not every family is in the place of privilige where someone can be home all school day. Forcing all classes home could put serious financial strain on families. For the poor especially, schools provide supplies and equipment, even food that kids can't get at home.

Also quite a few households are not happy places. Getting out to school gives children somewhere else safe and loving to go.

 

[joe1776]

Online education is the future, IMO. The negatives are minor and can be overcome. The education will be far better because students will be able to learn at their own pace while the instruction will be first-rate using all the tools available in modern communication.

The cost will be much lower and the education experience much better.

 

[Rival]

Online education is the future, IMO. The negatives are minor and can be overcome. The education will be far better because students will be able to learn at their own pace while the instruction will be first-rate using all the tools available in modern communication.

How is a lack of social interaction and empathy building 'minor'? I hate to break it to you, but most kids aren't going outside and interacting now; they do 90% of that at school. People are already having problems dating and marrying because they don't know how to interact properly.

 

[PureX]

We need somewhere to put our kids while we all spend our days working to make the rich, richer. And nothing must ever be allowed to interfere with this 'prime directive'.

Besides, socialization is as important to an education and the content.

 

[Nakosis]

Kids need social interaction, not more screentime.

There's still team sports and from what I recall, social interaction was frowned upon in the classroom.

 

[Nakosis]

No it would be a disaster and unimaginably dull and depressing for the students. We would breed a generation of badly educated social misfits. There is no substitute for learning with other lively minds. And in early days especially, a lot of what school does is teach children how to be civilised and caring members of society.

Yes, many of my classes were unimaginably dull and depressing, but that mainly depended on the teacher. There were a few "interactive" teachers but not really many. Plenty of lively minds online, take the RF for example.

 

[Rival]

There's still team sports and from what I recall, social interaction was frowned upon in the classroom.

I'm not talking about rowdiness. But education, especially in the first few years, is mostly about constructive play, learning to tolerate people different to you, and just general life lessons. Later, kids learn to bounce ideas off each other, give constructive criticism and so on within a moderated area. School is only 50% academic education, in my view. After having worked in a primary school, you learn it's about kids learning social graces, body language, how to ask for help, crossing roads, interacting with people from other age groups, sharing, and on and on. There's a lot of fun going on in classrooms these days; it's not like it was before.

ETA: Also, sports teams etc. really aren't that big a deal in the U.K. They're relatively unknown in the kid-sphere.

 

[Nakosis]

Also quite a few households are not happy places. Getting out to school gives children somewhere else safe and loving to go.

Safe and loving? You went to different schools than I did.

 

[Nakosis]

I'm not talking about rowdiness. But education, especially in the first few years, is mostly about constructive play, learning to tolerate people different to you, and just general life lessons. Later, kids learn to bounce ideas off each other, give constructive criticism and so on within a moderated area. School is only 50% academic education, in my view. After having worked in a primary school, you learn it's about kids learning social graces, body language, how to ask for help, crossing roads, interacting with people from other age groups, sharing, and on and on. There's a lot of fun going on in classrooms these days; it's not like it was before.

ETA: Also, sports teams etc. really aren't that big a deal in the U.K. They're relatively unknown in the kid-sphere.

So it's not really necessary for the education part of it. You want to keep a social interactive area for the kids, that's fine. We could make use of multipurpose buildings and social activities directors.

 

[ChristineM]

Do you feel the brick and mortar schools are a necessity or should we maybe invest in online schools?

I feel that health, education and welfare are important to any civilized country. My concern however is the cost.

IMO, brick and mortar schools plus educational staff are costly. Is there a benefit to keeping them around?

You could educate the people at a far less cost using online schooling. Less staff, more automation, more consistency in the curriculum.

Or is there something lacking in this scenario?

Children need interaction with peers, schooling in groups gives that interaction. The social benefits of this are long term

Not all children live in an environment conducive to learning, getting away from the strife of home life for a few hours per day, and unto a controlled learning environment, a great benefit.

It has been recorded in several countries during the current lockdowns that domestic violence has increased dramatically. Avoiding violence is yet another good reason for getting out of the house and into a school.

And, as a parent with 3 kids, admittedly only doing 1 hour official education via tv and contacting their respective teachers by email regarding what they can study on line. I can assure you, a home environment is not the place to be schooled, there are far to many distractions.

 

[Nakosis]

Not every family is in the place of privilige where someone can be home all school day. Forcing all classes home could put serious financial strain on families. For the poor especially, schools provide supplies and equipment, even food that kids can't get at home.

What supplies and equipment would be needed? Certainly with the money saved we could provide lunches, meals delivered directly to the home.

 

[Rival]

So it's not really necessary for the education part of it. You want to keep a social interactive area for the kids, that's fine. We could make use of multipurpose buildings and social activities directors.

Of course the education aspect is necessary; that's where kids learn constructive criticism best, as well as sharing ideas, learning to partner with people they don't like, being exposed to different views and so on.

 

[joe1776]

How is a lack of social interaction and empathy building 'minor'? I hate to break it to you, but most kids aren't going outside and interacting now; they do 90% of that at school. People are already having problems dating and marrying because they don't know how to interact properly.

You're making claims you can't possibly support with evidence.

People of all ages will interact in the future as they always have. They just won't do it while crowded into confined spaces. That isn't just dumb now. It has always been dumb.

Take a look at the effect of online dating. People are meeting others who live near them and have a much better chance of matching up than they ever did. It's a huge part of today's social scene.

 

[ADigitalArtist]

What supplies and equipment would be needed? Certainly with the money saved we could provide lunches, meals delivered directly to the home.

We wouldn't be saving money, even assuming that what we pay on taxes is greater than the cost of homeschooling(it isn't, even in societies where people give more of a **** about social services than the us.) See rest of post.

 

[Shad]

Do you feel the brick and mortar schools are a necessity or should we maybe invest in online schools?

A mix of both in my view based on course and student. Some crafts function better in a class setting than relying upon family/online. Woodworking and metalworking for example. Family may not have suitable space, safety standards, safety equipment, emergency gear (fire), etc. Their parents may not know anything about the craft so trying to teach people to use various tools online wouldn't work. Courses like math can vary based on students. PE/Sports would need handled differently as not all district have options and/or enough slots for all students to take part in a league.

I feel that health, education and welfare are important to any civilized country. My concern however is the cost.

That is due to unions. Most teachers are glorified babysitters reading from a manual demanding a wage for work they no longer do. If a course is shifted online you do not need as many teachers as the daycare part of the job is removed.

IMO, brick and mortar schools plus educational staff are costly. Is there a benefit to keeping them around?

Some people will stick need schools for specific courses as per the above or because they need to different method of learning. Online courses tend to be slim in repetition of a topic compared to schools. Schools will often handle a subject for days to weeks. Some online topics within a course are covered for 15-30 minutes as an exercise.

You could educate the people at a far less cost using online schooling. Less staff, more automation, more consistency in the curriculum.

Less daycare.

Or is there something lacking in this scenario?

Will to fight unions and the money sports brings in

 

[exchemist]

Safe and loving? You went to different schools than I did.

You going to a sh*t school does not invalidate my point.