Online education has been around for years but there was a hearing in Trenton today focusing on the introduction of online education in New Jersey’s charter schools. It’s an idea that has sparked controversy among educators. NJ Today Managing Editor Mike Schneider spoke with Assemblywoman Connie Wagner (D-38) who co-chaired today’s hearing.
The first thing the Joint Committee on Public Schools wanted to do, says Wagner, is define virtual learning and its variations. “There’s the virtual school, the complete virtual school, [and] then there’s blended virtual learning.”
She says that while the blended variety is already happening in schools throughout New Jersey, two hybrid schools are operating in Newark.
Wagner is in favor of blending learning, saying there is a place for it in schools to assist teachers. “If a teacher has 30 children in a classroom and different abilities, the teacher can help one student, can send a student to do something online,” said Wagner.
WATCH VIDEO:
Wagner says New Jersey can learn from the success or lack of success of states that have adopted virtual schools and to put in place regulations will have to be put in place to monitor student learning.
“I think before New Jersey jumps in front of the game of a K-12 virtual school, we need to stop and ask the questions of funding, we need to find out the success ratio of the other schools, we need to find out where they’re accredited by, we need to find out if there are certified teachers and … we also need to check whether or not students are authentically doing the work.”
Another issue in which the assemblywoman has been actively involved relates to nutrition. For several years, she has worked to pressure fast food restaurants to post calorie counts on their menus. And she was happy to hear that McDonald’s plans to do just that.
“I am very proud of McDonald’s and I am McSure that I am going to go there and congratulate them and I’ve waited a long time for this and it’s almost 4 years since I’ve been waiting for this to happen.”
Here efforts, she says, wasn’t intended to dictate where people should dine but is about informed choices. “We’re not saying not to go to a place to eat, we’re just saying give people an opportunity to make a choice — this meal or this meal, how many calories.”
So will knowing how many calories are in a Big Mac make a difference to customers? “Absolutely, I know for me it does,” said Wagner.