More schools around the USA are using online classes when communities run into troubles like wildfires, storms or water shortages.
In Jackson, Mississippi, a problem with the public water system left the city without safe water for several days. As a result, schools had to go online for one week in May. The time in online learning did not last long for the 20, 000 students in Jackson. Earlier this month, children went back to in-person learning when the city said water was safe for normal use.
However, online learning caused problems for children and teachers. At home, children attending online classes often had their whole family in the house. Early in 2020, school officials had high hopes for online learning. Since then, the problems with it have become clearer. The change to online learning has caused many students to fall behind where they should be in their studies. And it has added to new worries about students' health.
In 2018, two powerful storms hit the same area, causing schools in some places to close. Some students were out of school for weeks. There were attempts(尝试) at online learning, but many children did not have laptop computers or other technology. For this reason, most schools tried to move students to other in-person buildings.
"Schools now will look first to online learning," said Gary Henry. He is head of the University of Delaware and has been part of a research team studying online learning. For a period of a few weeks, he said it could be a step to keep students on schedule. But the pandemic(疫情) showed that it was not a good way over a long period of time. "It's a difficult start," said Henry. "It's better to have the kids in the classroom so you can see how they are doing, and provide timely support to them."