Drop Outs and How this will Effect the Future of Education
By Elizabeth Mann
Embedded Files
Research Learning Target
Interview Learning Targets
By the end of this lesson, readers will be able to list the demographic of drop-outs due to Covid-19, and describe how this will have a great effect on the next generation as well as the future of education itself.
By the end of the interview the readers should be able to identify multiple
difficulties with taking online courses during a pandemic.
Samantha struggles greatly with online courses
Samantha did not have the proper support from her University when the pandemic hit.
Samatha struggles mentally and emotionally during this transition.
Lets think about some things first...
What types of issues do you think there could be with children going to school virtually?
Lack of accountability?
Kids not submitting work?
Well it may not be as simple as that, and there are a lot of other issues that are completely out of the child's control..
I created this using a very popular meme but changing the words to relate to my topic. I wanted to bring a little bit lightness to a topic that can be very discouraging during this time.
Lets see what the people have to say about it
When it comes to education there is one major obstacle that many students and teachers may suffer with, and that is dropouts. This is the case for many students especially now with the pandemic. Dorn and Company speak about how Covid-19 related constrictions will not only cause a learning and achievement gap within America, but a whole generation of education will be lost. (Dorn, et. all, 2020) The students who will be most affected will be the lower income and minority children. Long explains that many of these students do not have the means to participate in online learning. They also do not have the proper environment to conduct education from home effectively. These students who dropout due to these conditions are also not likely to re-enroll. (Long, 2020). Samantha is a college dropout, who left school due to the difficulties of Covid-19 learning.
Tik Tok.MOVThis is a tik tok where I used the sound to relate to the caption of the video. It is suppose to display the shock of realizing the very damaging effects that the pandemic is having on our education and the future of the country. Again, it is a little bit of humor for a very dark time.
Now let's talk to a professional.
AKA a pandemic dropout
AAKA My sister Samantha
Takeaway #1: Online Courses are Tough
One of the first main reasons why Samantha dropped-out of college was her never ending struggle with online courses. When speaking to Samantha, she said that she struggled with the concept of “teaching herself”. (S. Mann, Personal Communication, Feb. 9, 2021) They were at the earlier stages of the pandemic where the curriculum did not support online learning quite yet. Samantha struggles when she can not participate actively in a lesson. She said that it became more about the assignments and the deadlines instead of her education, which in turn overwhelmed her. (S. Mann, Personal Communication, Feb. 9, 2021)
Take Away #2: Sometimes the School can't even Help
Now what made Samantha’s situation exponentially more difficult was the fact that her teachers and advisors could not assist her the way she needed. It was clear that just like the students, the teachers were stressed and unprepared. This cannot be blamed on the teachers, of course, but this was the component that led to Samantha’s dropout. Samantha said that when she was talking to her counselors that a lot of them even recommended taking a semester off. (S. Mann, Personal Communication, Feb. 9, 2021) They said this for a few reasons. It was clear at that point that Samantha was too far behind, and her university could not help her. They also did not penalize her; however, she now no longer plans on re-enrolling.
Take away #3: Your mental and Emotional Health Matter
It was clear through the interview that one of Samantha’s driving factors for her drop-out was her mental health. When the pandemic reached The United States, her job became very stressful. She works at Wal-Mart and they needed everyone hands on especially with her position that she holds in the store. This coupled with her stresses that has been explained above, she felt like she had no other choice. ( S. Mann, Personal Communication, Feb. 9, 2021) She was also dealing with the generalized fear that the whole world has been suffering with since Covid-19 made its appearance. Just like many others, she was worried about her family, her own health, and what this could ultimately mean for her future. Once she could no longer juggle all the conflicting emotions, she made her choice to leave school and focus on her blossoming career at Wal-Mart. Samantha did not want to completely ruin her GPA, so she left.
What does it all Mean?
All of this to say that education hangs in the balance during these times. It seems that the solutions that have come about since the pandemic in regard to schooling have not been the most effective. All the way from low-income minority students that we spoke about before, to students like Samantha who could not deal with the added stress. The true sadness is that these people deserve education. They crave it. Their circumstances should not prevent them from being able to obtain it, and I think we as a country need to step up. We need to consider these students and their limitations during this time. Accommodations should be made, and other options should be available. It is clear we do not have all the answers yet, but I hope that we head in a better direction. If not, the future remains empty and unclear.
Quiz Time!
Which of these is a factor as to why minority children are more likely to drop-out of school during the pandemic?
A. They do not have a proper environment that supports online learning
B. These children do not want to learn
C. The parents of these children do not want them in school
D. Minority children are more like to catch and spread the virus
Which of these was NOT a reason as to why Samantha ended up dropping out of college?
A. Samantha struggled to teach herself during online courses
B. Samantha was not smart enough to pass the classes she was in
C. Samantha's job became increasingly difficult and overwhelming
D. Samantha suffered mentally and emotionally during the pandemic
Answer Key
Q1: A
Q2: B
References
Dorn, E., Hancock, B., Sarakatsannis, J., & Viruleg, E. (2020). COVID-19 and student learning in the United States: The hurt could last a lifetime. McKinsey & Company.
Heather Long, D. (2020, December 05). The latest CRISIS: Low-income students are dropping out of college this fall in alarming numbers.
Reflection:
I learned a lot from this lesson. I never knew how detrimental the lack of education could be to the country as a whole. The economy, society, and future are all tied into education. The trickle down effect that these years of education will last a life time and will effect generations.
Some changes I made before I submitted my final was the format of the multiple choice questions. This was a common critique that I received back from my reviews that I knew I needed to change. I also had to make my multimedia links accessible to everyone. (Which I am not sure I did correctly still..but I tried.) I also included captions to my multimedia tools. I saw another student do the same thing, I realized how much I appreciated the context it created and wanted to apply that to my lesson.
My reviews made me realize that I had completely messed up my multiple choice questions. I did not realize there was a specific format. I did not want to lose points on something that could have been easily changed. My TA who graded my work was the one who notified me that they could not access the link for the tik tok. Again, this is a very easy place to earn points and I wanted to make sure I fixed it.
Honestly, I did not need more time to do changes. However, I wish I knew how to work with technology more. I felt very limited in my knowledge and felt like I could not be as creative as I wanted. A lot of things that I wanted to put in here just would not work right. I could not figure out some simple formatting things and it just does not look exactly how I would like it too creatively.
Something that would have motivated me again would have been a little more guidance on using the technology involved. I felt overwhelmed a lot and discouraged. I wanted to make everything look great and entertaining however I felt like I could not always make that happen. Another thing that would have been motivating if we were able to discuss our lessons more in class instead of through the reviews. I would have liked to hear more verbal feedback where we could have a conversation about the lesson. I think that would have set me on more of the right track down the road.
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