As we approach the possibility of schools requiring remote learning again this fall, the clarion call against it is sure to rear its angry head. While I dont disagree that schools that were never well-equipped to handle virtual learning have tainted the entire concept of online classrooms, I still find it an unfair correlation. Virtual learning isnt bad because its virtual. Its often bad because the school wasnt prepared to offer innovative, interactive online classes. This isnt a dig at teachers who had to upend their classrooms and fully convert everything online. Instead, its an understanding that schools that werent already equipped for online learning cant compete with schools that have it in their mission. This conversation has been focusing on the wrong things. Instead of touting either/or, why not both blended learning?

Blended learning is not a new concept for many forward-thinking schools such as France-based Le Sallay International Academy and Laurel Springs High School in Ojai, Calif., according to a Forbes report in January. Blended learning uses online and in-person learning, giving students the best of both worlds. For schools that have built blended learning into their mission, the often touted horrors of remote learning are irrelevant. As technology evolves, so too should education. The pandemic has shown us that our traditional approach to education is in serious need of an overhaul. With so many educational options like blended learning available, why choose schools based purely on proximity when we have the entire world in our laps?

Mira Mason-Reader, Eugene

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Readers respond: The benefits of blended learning - OregonLive