Mar 30, 2020 19:00:00

What is the current situation in the United States where students are forced to study at home in a hurry?

On March 15, it was announced that public schools in New York City, where new coronavirus infections are spreading, will be

closed by April 20. As schools close, teachers are preparing at a rapid pace, starting on March 23 in New York City with home study for 1.1 million students. Outside of New York City, students are forced to switch to home study, and educational programs are being conducted through online learning and television programs.

School districts take unplanned plunge into online learning
https://www.bostonherald.com/2020/03/23/virus-spurs-unexpected-test-for-us-schools-online-learning/

Coronavirus: Closed schools turn to TV, PBS, Fox to teach students
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/education/2020/03/28/pbs-online-learning-lausd-coronavirus-school-closures-tv-fox/2925962001/

Some children have studied at home in the United States, but this has never been the case in New York City. Students who have an online environment have already signed in to Google Classroom and Zoom videos and are conducting various classes from physical education in kindergarten to high school English discussion. The city is also distributing laptops to hundreds of thousands of students, creating an environment for children to study at home.

`` We're going into an unknown, but exciting, situation, '' said Richard Calanza, director of the New York City Department of Education, saying the potential of home-based learning even during adversity. It shows a positive view of what can be confirmed. On the other hand, many experts have expressed concern that 'few educators are well trained in online learning' and 'nobody expected to start the program so quickly'. Students seem to be worried, 'I don't know if this is useful because I have no experience in online classes.'

Some school districts in the United States oppose conducting online learning during school closures, saying, 'It is unfair for children who cannot connect to the high-speed Internet or do not have a PC.' In fact, 300,000 children in New York City do not have PCs, and 175,000 PCs and tablets will be distributed in the coming weeks. Smartphones can also be used, but small screens are not enough learning environments.

To address these issues, districts such as Los Angeles, California, Boston, Mass., And Bethlehem, Pennsylvania have partnered with local television stations to broadcast their educational programs on television. According to Austin Boyntner, Los Angeles Superintendent of Education, 700,000 students in the city can access a 'low tech' solution using television.

This is also the first attempt for teachers delivering educational programs on television, so there are many concerns. Unlike the classroom, there is no student in front of you, so you cannot check your level of understanding. The person in charge of the education program makes use of props to compose a 30-minute class, and repeatedly records it to improve the program's perfection.

In the United States, where infections are widespread, the need for online learning in public educational institutions is expected to grow. The new coronavirus has already closed 118,000 schools in 45 states, affecting 53 million students.

'It's not the perfect way, but we have to do it,' said Michael Margrue, chairman of the Teachers' Union in New York City.