The Health Department offers a new online health course, which has garnered much support from the student body.
With all the hustle and bustle of every Hockaday student’s school day, it is hard to be excited for another 80-minute class period learning about “how to be healthy.” As a result, the Hockaday Health Department has decided to offer not only the traditional health class but also an online course this year. An online section of Health III will be offered every quarter, rather than only during third and fourth quarter as in previous years.
Form II students will get to experience both online and offline health activities, while Form III students have more control in choosing how they would like their health class to be administered.
This online course will allow more flexibility, especially for students who have scheduling issues. Head of Upper School Health Rebekah Calhoun hopes that the new option will be a successful in teaching the course in a way that is best for everyone.
“It gives you kind of an option as to how you think it would work best for you. It allows you to make the choice of what is best for you,” Calhoun said.
According to Calhoun, the students have welcomed the new online course with open arms; about half of the students have taken advantage of this new opportunity or have expressed preference to it. Sophomore Lily Johnson enjoys how online health allows her to manage her time in the way she chooses, thus alleviating a great deal of stress.
“I like online health better because it gives me flexibility in my schedule by allowing me to do the readings and assignments at my own pace and giving me time to work on other classes’ assignments, while still getting the benefits and lessons of the health course,”Johnson said.
Calhoun stated that though half of the student body enjoys having flexibility, the other half prefers having teacher-student interaction. Johnson’s fellow classmate Grace Cai has a much different opinion about online health.
“I find it difficult to study on my own without a teacher clarifying things for me and instructing me directly,” Cai said.
As a result, the Health Department is going to continue offering both a classroom and online course. It hopes to find an easy, accessible way for every one to complete their health course, while also figuring out how to suit each student’s learning needs and styles.
– Heidi Kim
