Hershey High School offers only six online classes and online languages, which vary in availability each year. Students involved in athletics and extracurriculars often feel overwhelmed by busy schedules and demanding course loads, and online courses can provide extra time in their schedules during the school day.
HHS should offer more online classes.
Online courses are a good option for student athletes, students with demanding course loads, and students dealing with health issues. In addition, online courses can expand the variety of courses offered, such as how online world languages function. HHS should provide more online courses for students to expand the course options and support students in need of asynchronous learning.
Adding more online classes at HHS would greatly benefit students. The New Jersey Institute of Technology praises asynchronous learning for being “accessible to every student” and supporting “every learning style.” Asynchronous learning gives students the opportunity to choose when and where they work and to pace themselves through the materials. This is a good skill to develop when preparing for college and adulthood.
School environments can also be overwhelming for students struggling with mental health issues, and online courses can be a better option for them. The University of Minnesota argues that online courses are better for student mental health because students can “feel safe while learning” and choose a “comfortable learning environment”.
In addition, HHS offers study halls for online courses. This means students can work independently and complete assignments for other classes during that time if needed.
Athletes hoping to play their sport in college can also benefit from online classes. By being able to work at their own pace, students can devote more time to training while keeping their grades up. This could potentially allow for more collegiate-level sports offers when putting more time into developing skills.
There are some negatives to online classes, though. Due to their self-paced nature, cheating can be a larger issue with online classes. There are conflicting results on whether or not online classes have a higher rate of cheating, but many teachers and administrators across the country have concerns about the possibility. Work ethic is huge in a student-paced environment. Students may fall behind with less strict deadlines and no teacher ensuring students are working.
According to a study by Chabot College, in-person classes have a higher rate of passing by a small margin, but this gap is rapidly closing with advancements. While there is a possibility of online classes having negative consequences, the positives are far more significant for most students.
Hershey High School does not offer high-interest electives such as astronomy, art history, or graphic design. The NCAA accepts astronomy and graphic design as electives, which can benefit student-athletes.
Some classes offered as online courses are designed that way because of low enrollment. ASL and other languages other than the traditional French and Spanish are offered online due to lower enrollment. HHS could expand its course catalogue if it were to offer more online courses.
If you think Hershey High School should provide more online classes, contact Ms. Schmidt @lschmidt.
