The Reality of Online Education during the COVID-19 pandemic in Disadvantaged Communities.

These days, I’m working from home while my students are expected to take online classes. Yet, most of them don’t even have computers. The D.C. Department of Education decided not to lend laptops to students, concerned they wouldn’t be returned and might end up on the black market. Our school was even broken into recently by someone attempting to steal laptops.

Out of roughly 30 fourth graders, only five regularly attend the twice-weekly online classes—thirty minutes each of English and math. Of those five, only three have their own internet connection; the other two call in via phone. What about the rest? This is the reality of education in Southeast D.C. Students here can’t even attend the schools they used to, nor can they participate in the meager two hours of online classes each week.

It’s hard for these kids to study on their own, so the parents’ role becomes crucial—but many don’t have the support they need at home. In fact, sometimes parents argue loudly during their children’s online classes, creating even more obstacles for learning.

This is not a problem unique to the U.S. I recently read an article in the Hankyoreh newspaper about teachers in Korea who are deeply concerned about the widening educational gap among students. The truth is, existing disparities will only grow wider, and the influence of parents will become even more decisive.

I’m genuinely worried about what lies ahead. All of these children are set to be promoted to fifth grade in September, but it’s hard to imagine how we’ll address the learning gaps that have only grown during this time. We’ve spent so much effort getting struggling students to memorize their multiplication tables, but by the time they return this fall, I fear they’ll have forgotten even the little they managed to learn.

But, meanwhile, just as in Korea, the children from middle- and upper-class families in the U.S. are thriving with full schedules of online classes and private tutoring.

04/08/2020 by Dr. Lan Joo