Calcasieu Parish does not care about its students. I'm a senior at Sulphur High School and am currently using the online education platform "Odysseyware" as an alternative for in-person learning. This platform has been given to students by Calcasieu Parish School Board as an alternative for in-person learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which between December 8th through the 21st alone, Calcasieu Parish had 1,499 new cases. 

Odysseyware has proved itself to us students, and even teachers, that this is NOT worthy of being a system of education for ANY students. The curriculums are not that of what our in-person peers are learning, thus separating students entirely of learning together. As an online student myself, I have already discovered numerous issues with this website and its substandard excuse for a curriculum. Here are a few issues I've discovered in my short time of using this website.

1. Lack of communication.

When working on Odysseyware, you're given the option to "ask a question" when confused about a problem. This feature allows you to enter a question prompt, which you're then supposed to wait until your teacher answers said question. On the outside, it sounds completely fine and even manageable, but it is not. Teacher's can take 1-3 days to respond, tampering with the time the student has to complete assignments. Odysseyware does not let you work on more than one assignment, so you must have your questions answered in order to finish. This can affect grades poorly, as a student needs to be able to finish their assignments without doubts of whether or not they knew what they were doing due to a lack of communication. Calcasieu Parish should try the use of other programs with actual interactive online classes such as Microsoft Teams or Zoom. Online students should not be forced to use Google as their teacher because the school board fails to recognize our needs as students.

2. Confusing curriculum.

The curriculum chosen for many subjects including English and History are entirely random and do not correlate whatsoever with what our in-person peers are learning. The website administers sections that you read and then answer questions for. These sections at times will not correlate whatsoever to the questions given, leaving students confused and unsure of what to do. I encountered this issue when working on an assignment for World History, and was left angry, confused, and helpless. This website promotes the failure of students by using confusing language and off topic questions. Many students using online learning could already be struggling with the use of a new platform, so shouldn't we try to accommodate them just as we would our in-person students? The use of more interactive platforms such as Microsoft Team or Zoom would better equip virtual students with the means to succeed and eliminate the educational disconnect between virtual and in-person learners.

3. Disconnect between virtual and in-person learners.

The obvious disconnect that is happening between virtual and in-person learners is alarming. Calcasieu Parish failing to recognize the online curriculum learners as real students creates an extreme disconnect not only with other students, but with teachers as well. The education of online learners is just as, if not more, important at times due to the lack of contact between educational parties. Students should be learning as one, whether it is online or in-person, by connecting them through the same curriculum. It is entirely unfair to online learners to have to educate themselves and have the risk of failure because of a disconnect with their peers and having proper communication. 

Please help the students using online curriculum achieve a better form of education and a more empathetic way of learning. This parish has proved itself time and time again to be behind the times, and it is tiring as a student to experience this. 

Please sign and spread the word. Our education matters.