Teacher union head criticizes Jefferson County’s online classes
MARTINSBURG — The president of the American Federation of Teachers criticized Jefferson County School District’s’ use of online advanced placement classes at the district high schools, claiming the courses do not provide students the same educational experience as classes that us an in-classroom instructor.
AFT President Randi Weingarten, who visited two Jefferson County Schools on Tuesday, said online AP classes fall short in providing teacher-student interaction essential to higher level subjects courses. The AFT is a teachers union representing approximately1.6 million teachers nationwide.
“How can you possibly teach an AP course through a computer,” Weingarten said. “Of course a computer is not going to work for an AP class, because there’s no engagement there.”
Online AP classes should only be used when a school district is unable to place a qualified instructor to teach the class, Weingarten said.
“Our job is a human job — it’s a connective tissue job — working with students,” Weingarten said.
Weingarten’s comments about the district’s online AP classes come three weeks after a group of parents appeared before the Jefferson County Board of Education to voice their concerns over their children’s online English and history classes at Jefferson High School.
At the Feb. 14 BOE meeting, parents claimed their children’s online advanced placement classes do not prepare them for college the same way an AP course with an in-class teacher would. More than a dozen parents and students spoke at the meeting, claiming the district’s advanced placement courses taught online are sub-par compared to AP classes with an in-the-classroom teacher.
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