This week, we talked about how distance education manifests in different parts of the world. Along with this, our texts covered culture and how it affects distance education. When we think about culture, we typically think about religious or ethnic culture, but the truth is that any group of people develops a culture. Whether it's Chinese culture, LGBTQ+ culture, sorority/ frat culture, or rock climbers' culture, all of these groups of people have developed their own rules, beliefs, practices, etc. as a singular entity. While students' ethnic and religious culture certainly has an effect on how an online class looks - whether it be as concrete as religious days that prevent the students from completing work, or as abstract as students bringing pieces of their beliefs and practices into the virtual classroom - but the culture I would like to focus on is the one that every single student of mine will be a part of, student culture.
I would like to focus on the broad topic of student culture because no matter where I go, no matter who I teach, all of my students will take part in this culture in one way or another. I will have to tailor my classes to the individuals that take part in them, but there will always be a base template of practices that I can form from keeping in mind the culture of my students.
One of the greatest pieces of student culture that will have explicit effects on a teacher is the fact that students tend to be really busy. Whether they tutor, participate in sports, partake in clubs, volunteer, or even just keep up with a social life, students often have little time to finish homework. With this in mind, if I were to run an online course, I would be sure to give my students lots of reminders about due dates, as it might be difficult for them to keep up with everything. I would also try to be as flexible as I could with assignments. As someone who was in hockey, band, NHS, and knowledge bowl as a high school student, I know that sometimes events overlap and leave some days with little to no time to do homework. I would give students assignments pretty early so they could prepare for these busy days by completing their work early.
Another aspect of student culture that is important to keep in mind as a distance educator in a secondary school is how students at that age are trying to discover who they are as an individual. With this in mind, I would like to give my students ample opportunities to research the things they're interested in. I would also want to provide them a lot of space to speak with and bounce ideas off of each other. Peer interaction is an essential part of discovering oneself, and this practice has to be intentional in an online space.
