Online learning would fail

Months before the world shut down and children were kept home from school, Ontario, led by Premier Doug Ford, rolled out a revolutionary plan for education.

“Ontario Brings Learning Into the Digital Age,” blasted a November, 2019, press release, announcing a plan to require high school students take two online courses to graduate. It was a step, the government said, toward transforming the province into a “global leader of modern and digital education.” But it did not sit well with the teachers’ union. Negotiations on a new contract had collapsed; the union had engaged in job action.

Little did the Ontario government know that in a few months the entire country would be experimenting with online learning.

I was The Globe and Mail’s education reporter at the time, and had two young children attending virtual school. The e-mails from parents, both friends and work contacts, landed fast and furious. Technological glitches. Little ones dissolving into tears in front of their screens. Older kids disinterested in a virtual world where they couldn’t physically see their friends or teachers – or participate in extracurriculars.

Taking stock of the situation around me, I thought the experience would prove that online learning wouldn’t work for most students. For those who felt excluded or uncomfortable in their schools – those who were bullied or experienced racism or had anxiety or learning disabilities – an online classroom would be beneficial. But too many were disengaged and struggled with mental-health issues.

Five years later, the virtual school option has remained in place. But as we move further away from the height of the pandemic, families are also moving further away from online learning. The Toronto District School Board, for example, said 654 elementary students enrolled in remote learning this school year, down from 1,012 in 2023-24 and more than 2,200 in 2022-23. Similarly, just over 1,000 secondary students enrolled in virtual school this academic year, down from 1,400 the previous year. (High school students are still required to take two online courses to graduate, but they can opt out.)

At the end of the day, the accidental experiment with online learning made one thing crystal clear: There is no replacement for the interactions that come with being in a classroom.