Are brick and mortar schools an antiquated idea?

[ThinkAnarchy]

In years past, my first thought when I wanted to learn a new skill or subject would have been, "I need to re-enroll in school, change my major, or audit some creative writing classes." But that isn't the case anymore. Instead, my first thought is to use google. Yes, it's filled with some bad advice and misinformation, but it is also a giant library for those who are an autodidact.

For writing alone, there are writing workshops.
     - Cracked.com has a writing workshop it uses to find publishable articles. Anyone can sign up and submit an article to the forum.
       Other members than give advice as well as the Cracked editors until the chosen ones are of a publishable quality.

There are many resources for discovering your voice, brainstorming ideas, learning the difference between homonyms and how to use them correctly.

I have recently taken an interest in HTML and have found a plethora of helpful and free resources. I have found help from youtube tutorials, CodeAcademy.com, and W3.org.

I recently discovered this site, but haven't looked into it much yet.

http://openstudy.com/study

The students seem to be the teachers, which I think is a fascinating idea. I have no clue if it will be a successful one. They don't appear to have a large base yet, and it may prove ineffective, but I find the idea interesting none-the-less.

Someone here recently posted a thread linking to another free online learning tool. I couldn't remember how to find it, but had discovered it previously from another site.

The point is, everything we need to learn, about whatever interests us can be found through online resources. So why are brick and mortar schools still needed? In the nations where internet is widespread, there seems to be very little need for them. Everything they allegedly teach can be learned online. These sites cost much less to maintain than traditional schools and I fail to see the usefulness of traditional education in today's modern world.

I understand why the schools argue we need them. Their livelihood is on the line unless they can branch into the internet market. But why do we as consumers attend them, why do we send our children to them?

I don't think a solid argument can be made for high school and college level education continuing to take place in these antiquated buildings. I can see an argument being made for primary education remaining in brick and mortar establishments.

By the way, I'm not posting this to defend my position. I simply want to put this idea out there. I'm very open to hearing why traditional schools are still valuable, but I can't think of any solid reasons.

[Tank]

I have a bit of experience of distance leaning and group/school learning. From this I tend to think that it's 'horses for courses'. I don't like distance learning. I'm a gregarious character and work much better in a group than I do on my own. So I much preferred the last year of my college course, which I did at college, as opposed to the beginning which I did at home.

The problem is that for people like me group education, in the flesh, is always more expensive than online.

My wife is much more comfortable with distance learning, she has obtained all her degrees this way. She has also taught in a distance lerning environment with the Open University for almost 20 years.

[ThinkAnarchy]

That is true. There will likely always be a need because some people will prefer direct education with a physical teacher. I have no clue how many people prefer traditional schooling to online education though. I will need to look into that later.

I always got bored and yelled at in school.  I once boycotted my math class because I was failing and didn't care anymore, so I simply read a sci-fi series the rest of the year in class.

[DeterminedJuliet]

There are different kinds of "learners". Some people are visual learners (they can read something and absorb it), but some people need more "hands on" interaction in order for a lesson to sink in. If you're a visual learner, the internet is great. If you're not, you might need something else.

My current program is entirely online - my school is in my city, but I like the flexibility of being able to do things online and in my own way. It works really, really well for me, but I know some people are really struggling with the program because it's not their "style". You need a certain amount of time management skills and self-motivation to really get a lot out of an online education. (Not to say that people who are geared that way are "better" - just different).

On a different note, I think the socialization that comes with a "real people" education is pretty important. I met all of my very good friends in High School and I met my husband at University. It provides a venue where you're really exposed to a lot of different people and I kind of like that. It really isn't the same as meeting people at a job or through an activity. At least, that's what I find.

[Siz]

DJ has highlighted the most important point and the rest of you all seem to have overlooked this most vital of learnings - Social interaction. Yes, academic learning can be effected in any environment, but school is about so much more. Learning how to get along with people, that different people think in different ways, how to make friends, to compromise, to share, to settle arguments etc... Not to mention easy access to team sports, a choice of roll-models, in-touch welfare services etc...etc...

In terms of higher education for adults (18+) I can see the value in home learning and the benefits of online resources. But bricks and mortar schools for children growing up being Antiquated? Never.

[ThinkAnarchy]

DJ has highlighted the most important point and the rest of you all seem to have overlooked this most vital of learnings - Social interaction. Yes, academic learning can be effected in any environment, but school is about so much more. Learning how to get along with people, that different people think in different ways, how to make friends, to compromise, to share, to settle arguments etc... Not to mention easy access to team sports, a choice of roll-models, in-touch welfare services etc...etc...

In terms of higher education for adults (18+) I can see the value in home learning and the benefits of online resources. But bricks and mortar schools for children growing up being Antiquated? Never.

I have never seen a solid study to show that home schooled children are any worse at dealing with social interactions though. From what I know, most children who are taught at home, don't seem to be anymore likely to suffer from social anxiety, social awkwardness, or have an less of a chance at making friends. Most parents like to hold dances and parties for their homeschool children to facilitate their making friends, from what I have read online.

I agree children need to learn how to work with others, and make friends. But i'm not convinced schools are the best way for children to acquire that knowledge.

[Stevil]

Having a curriculum can be important to ensure a person is aligned with what others are being taught.
Also employers want to compare potential employees and to know that they have certain knowledge.
Also it is very important to interact with other people, other cultures, other demographics, good people skills are generally more important than knowing math, science, social studies etc...

I however think that school needs to teach people finance skills and grammar.
In the past they used to teach grammar but when I went through school they didn't seem to teach it. Most of my job these days is writing formal documents and good grammar would help. It is also useful for putting a CV together.
With poor finance skills, many people live off hire purchase and credit cards and never get ahead of the game.

[Siz]

I agree children need to learn how to work with others, and make friends. But i'm not convinced schools are the best way for children to acquire that knowledge.

What better way could there be to learn the skills required to interact successfully with other people on a daily basis than to ... er... interact with other people on a daily basis!?

[Tank]

I agree children need to learn how to work with others, and make friends. But i'm not convinced schools are the best way for children to acquire that knowledge.

What better way could there be to learn the skills required to interact successfully with other people on a daily basis than to ... er... interact with other people on a daily basis!?

That is quite right. And my wife got her PhD doing detailed research over a 4 year period that agrees with your comment.

[DeterminedJuliet]

I'm sure children who are home schooled still develop interpersonal skills.

But, as a parent, I want my son to be exposed to all kinds of people - not just the people that I hand pick for him. He should see different socio-economic groups, ethnicities, backgrounds. That's kind of hard to organize on your own and it is, in fact, why some parents choose to homeschool in the first place (to keep their kids sheltered from certain "kinds" of people).

[ThinkAnarchy]

There are other options for interacting with individuals other than the 7 hours spent in school. Children interact with others when they go to arcades (assuming children still do that), or pay for their own products at a store, or go to Chuck e Cheese.

Personally, I lean towards the montessori school's and would likely send my children to one. I think it is a nice mix of social interaction and freedom for the child to discover what they are passionate about.

That isn't to say I don't think the same theory about education couldn't be applied in an online setting. I would likely choose to have my child attend one of those schools early in life, until they are old enough to direct their education in directions that interest them (on there own, with even less structure).

I can, however, see the benefits of having young children around their peers in the early stages of development.

[DeterminedJuliet]

Yeah, I get what you're saying.

Though I think a non-structured approach might make it harder for people who end up getting very structured jobs. I'd feel bad for a kid who could self-direct until they're 18 and then they get stuck with a 9-5 job with a micro-managing boss. 

[Anne D.]

Another benefit of traditional bricks-and-mortar schooling is the advantage of being able to ask the instructor a question in real time and get a response in real time and to hear the questions of one's peers and the replies to those questions. Also, there's the benefit of discussion of particular points during class. If a kid had to type up his question every time he had one and wait for a response, I'm guessing some kids just wouldn't bother.

Although, I think some online schooling providers are now offering courses where at least part of the curriculum is offered by a teacher delivering a lecture in real time with the opportunity for students to ask questions in real time.

Online grade 3-12 schooling is a growing market here in the U.S. Overall, I'm really leery of allowing provider companies to get public money to "educate" elementary-12 students. I'm sure that for some students, especially those who are already very self-motivated and who have attentive parents, the online learning model will work great. What I'm afraid of is large groups of kids getting funneled into an all-online schooling system. My fear is that for a lot of kids, it's just not going to have a good outcome. But by the time that's found out, the kids will have lost a year or two of education.  

[Stevil]

I can, however, see the benefits of having young children around their peers in the early stages of development.

We actively seek opportunities for our 3 year old to socialise.
Take her to play group, toddler toes (dancing), coffee group (byproduct of prenatal course), invite over friends with similar aged children, take her to kindergarten even though wife is at home looking after the 1 year old.
I think this will always be important unless of course, our child grows up and decides to be a hermit and live alone in the mountains somewhere.

[xSilverPhinx]

As someone who can easily say that the most important things I've learnt, I've learnt outside of schools and free of teachers, I don't really see the point of schools. But that's my personal opinion of what's best for me, other people might see other aspects of school to be important enough.

I watched a documentary in which home schoolers get over the socialising problem by creating their own communities, with other home schoolers, so it isn't a problem that as pervasive as it looks. If you're into controversies, google 'unschooling' and see where that leads. Now that's rad stuff, something on which I don't quite yet have a formed opinion.