Why I spent 10th grade online

[Commentary] Last year, while her classmates at Washington International School sat at their desks by day and did their homework by night, Sophia Pink skipped school. And not just once. She didn’t attend a single day of 10th grade.

In ninth grade, I was frustrated. In school, I marched to other people’s orders, leaving little time to complete projects I was really interested in. So I arranged with my parents and my school to take a year off — my own sabbatical. I knew that I’d probably go back to my regular school the following fall, and I had to cover academic subjects — math, science and English — that I’d need in 11th grade. So I plunged into online education.

Based on my year away from traditional school, I think we’re looking at a new method too narrowly. Classroom education is not a relic. And online learning isn’t a pale imitation of “real” education, a dumbed-down version that endangers quality and excellence. The reality lies where it usually does — somewhere in between. Classroom education won’t and shouldn’t be fully replaced by Web courses, but it could draw on what works online. For instance, in many high school courses, students could watch short video lectures at home to understand key concepts and then use class time more for discussions and group projects. Huge online courses have many virtues, but they need to do better at fostering the side-by-side collaboration that my generation will need on the job. In the end, each approach could strengthen the other. That’s been true for me. I learned a lot studying online, but on Monday I’ll return to my school for 11th grade. Yet I’ll be returning as a different kind of student, one who sees the good points of the classroom more clearly but who also knows that virtual classrooms can be just as important as blackboards and desks.