Cyber School Series: Cyber School vs. A Traditional School System

Arrrg there, mateys!

As a cyber school student, I am well aware of the debates and opinions many have on cyber schools. For me, cyber school has unexpectedly changed my life. About a year ago, when I was researching alternate education options for myself, I refused to look at cyber schools. I already had a preconceived, negative opinion of what I thought cyber school was, due to the reputation it had. Once I was bullied to the point where I literally could not go back to school, I decided to consider cyber school. I opened my mind and that's when cyber school changed my life. 
Not everyone has had or will have the same cyber school experience as I have had. Some students absolutely hate it, but for the students who have had similar experiences to mine, this school system needs a positive promotion. These students deserve to have a voice about how we are directly effected by the debates, funding cuts, and lack of promotion of cyber schools. 
I wrote this essay as an assignment for school and decided that I wanted to be that voice, so I submitted it to our local and national newspapers. I hope to continue to write more and do what I can to strengthen my voice. 
~The Pirate Princess



I am an eleventh grade cyber school student. I love school and I love learning. I have been in cyber school for about two years. Like most other cyber students, I am there for a reason. I went to a traditional school for my entire life, but I was bullied which affected my health, and caused me to be bullied even more. I felt like I was suffocating and I didn't feel smart nor did I value myself as a person. Since my start in a cyber school, I have discovered my own learning abilities and strengths and have been able to grow as a person and a student. I have received many educational opportunities and have been able to find a job and begin to prepare myself for my future. However, it is no secret that cyber school tends to be looked down upon in some parts of our society. Based on my own experiences and knowledge of the current political affairs about cyber schools, I have decided to write about the lack of promotion of this viable educational system that has changed my life.

To me, education is valuable. Ken Robinson said "You see, in the end, education is about learning. If there's no learning going on, there's no education going on. And people spend an awful amount of time discussing education without ever discussing learning. The whole point of education is to get people to learn,” Some people cannot learn in the tradition school system, for many reasons. Our traditional educational system provides for a group experience, and not everyone in a group learns the same way. Cyber school individualizes. It reaches the person who does not comprehend or learn in a classroom setting. Therefore cyber school needs to be given equal recognition in our societal system.

All school systems are bound by the administration, goals, policies, statistics, reputations, standardized testing requirements and state requirements which must be met. All this pressure can take away from the quality of education the student receives. The restrictions placed upon the schools can obstruct learning and can cause a rigid mold to form. Some students do really well with these pressures, conform to this mold easily, and can even be motivated by it. Nonetheless, as human beings, we are naturally diverse and different. The mold does not allow for students who may fall on either side of it.

A traditional school system, is created for the masses , not created for individuals. Every individual cannot be catered to in a public school system. There is no allowance for that. There are rules set up for the masses and there are teachers set up to teach in a classroom setting. Students who may not be self-motivated, self-disciplined, good at managing their time, and who are codependent do well in the tradition school system. However, when you have children who can learn better, experience better, and overall be more successful, in a personal, individualized setting, cyber school allows that to happen.

The traditional school system helps students prepare academically for their future beyond high school and helps them to focus on what career field into which they want to go. Benjamin Franklin said, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” Like Franklin, I believe it is important to prepare and plan for our futures and take the required steps needed to reach our goals. One way traditional schools achieve this is by creating a regularly consistent daily schedule for the students and the teachers. It does achieve the school's goals and the state requirements, but depending on the student, it can be rather tedious and stressful, even for the teachers. The cyber school schedule is flexible. The student can make it what they want and take breaks when they want. For some students, this environment is more relaxing, and therefore makes it easier to learn and retain more information. As a student, I am taking steps to prepare for my future and reach my goals, but after the recent passing of the 13 year old YouTube makeup artist, Talia Castellano, I am reminded that not every child gets to reach those goals or to live out that future. In fact, it's almost as if our childhood is viewed as a “training period” for our future. However, this is not the case. We are living our life now, not “training” for it.

Research done by the American Childhood Cancer Organization, shows that pediatric cancer is the number one cause for disease-related death in children. In the United States alone, there are approximately 13,400 children diagnosed with cancer, between the ages of 0-19, each year. Jesus says in Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough troubles of its own.” For children like Talia and those who are in situations similar to this, every day is precious and unfortunately that future may not come for them. A schedule created for the masses can take away from that child's quality of life and limit the everyday life experiences they receive.

Similarly, students who may be teen parents face many struggles. Education is a big one for them and in a traditional school system, it can prove to be extremely difficult. A lot of them are torn between wanting to be there for their child and wanting to continue their education so they can support themselves and provide a future for themselves and their children. These students can be even more vulnerable to bullying and commonly drop out of school because of their situation. Cyber school allows teen parents to be able to raise their child while possibly working to provide for their young family and continuing their high school education, simultaneously. Because the traditional school system is designed for the masses and because of the regulated schedule, it does not allow for situations like students with health concerns or for situations like teen pregnancy. There isn't room for the school system to cater to the individual needs of these students.

An epochal part of one's education is the one who is educating. Teacher's have efficacy upon each student. James Comer said, “No significant learning can occur without a significant relationship.” That relationship between the student and the teacher is an essential component of education. Whereas that relationship can be found in both traditional schools and cyber schools, the flexibility of the cyber school schedule and the potentially shorter school day not only benefits the students but gives teachers other opportunities outside of teaching. Some of my teachers this past school year worked in other professional settings and would even apply their knowledge and experience to their teaching. By doing so, I felt that they provided me with more of a knowledge of real-life, as well as the required material. I had a teacher who had a background in medicine, specifically the field in which my personal medical conditions lie. The teacher was able to provide me with information that not only helped me in my own case and motivated me to receive a successful second opinion, but also helped me write reports on the subject for other classes and helped me realize that I may want to go into a similar field after high school. To me, that is not just a teacher but a mentor. George Washington Carver said, “All learning is understanding relationships.” Personally, I believe that If the student isn't motivated, isn't touched or doesn't feel cared about by his or her teachers, they won't care, they won't want to try, and they won't learn.

In the traditional school system, students benefit from an active social life. They have the opportunity to be with their friends over lunch, study halls, and work together in the classroom. However, these situations also bring about the increasing amount of bullying. Students are bullied by other students and even by members of the faculty. In some schools, when the bullying is reported, the response received is, “There is no such thing as bullying here.” Some schools tend to push bullying under the carpet so they can rank higher in their statistics. I was one of those students who was a victim of bullying and who received such a response. Bullying is something that goes on everywhere. Even outside of the school system. According to research done by Family First Aid, about 30% of teenagers in the United States are involved in bullying one way or another. Bullying comes in many forms including the increasing cyber bullying. I was both cyber bullied and verbally bullied in school. Ironically, despite being cyber bullied, I am in cyber school. My specific school is set up so we still can socialize with the other students, we can interact and work together in groups and as partners, and we have a teacher who has an online classroom and can still teach to the class. We have frequent field trips with the other students in our region and online cafes we can attend during our lunch period. There is even a cyber school prom. This allows us to still have that important social life while receiving an individualized, flexible education. I have never witnessed cyber bullying going on in cyber school. All of our conversations with one another, during class, are monitored by the teacher. Pearl Arredondo said, “Everyone has a story, everyone has a struggle, and everyone needs help along the way.” The majority of students who attend a cyber school are there for a reason. Whatever the reason may be (bullying, teen pregnancy, health conditions, etc) we have all been through a struggle and we all have our own story, and I believe that when we interact with one other, we keep that in mind. I believe that it creates a feeling of respect, equality and unity among all of us.

Both the traditional school system and cyber schools are important and equally needed. Each student is individually unique and has their own learning abilities. Not every student can conform to a system in which is created for groups, but instead needs an individualized and flexible education that fits their abilities and their lifestyle. However, some students do particularly well in a group environment and conform to the expectations easily and successfully. If a student is not a self-motivated, responsible, self-disciplined person, then the traditional school system can be successful for them. That same student may also do well in a cyber environment. Angela Lee Duckworth believes that, “What we need in education is a much better understanding of students and learning from a motivation perspective. From a psychological perspective.” By tapping into each student's personality and unique learning abilities, it's possible to increase the amount of learning that takes place, therefore, increasing the amount of education around the world.

Works Cited:

“Pearl Arrendondo: My story, from gangland daughter to star teacher” TED, May, 2013

“Angela Lee Duckworth: The key to success? Grit.” TED, May 2013

“Ken Robinson: How to escape education's death valley: TED. May 2013

“Rita Pierson: Every kid needs a champion.” TED, May 2013

Brainy Quote, 2001-2013

Matthew 6, New International Version, biblehub, 2011

“School Bullying and Teen Bullying Statistics”, Family First Aid, 2000-2004

“Childhood Cancer Statistics”, American Childhood Cancer Organization, 2000-2013