As I talk with my friends, colleagues, and fellow teachers in various institutions of higher education, we all seem to agree on one thing: enrollment is way down in all of our on-campus courses. On the other hand, online classes are booming. To me, this is a great irony. Young people today are more "connected" than at any other time in human history, but I don't think we can conclude from this that such "connectivity" is a superior alternative to face-to-face relationships. From everything I've read on this subject as a professional educator, I've consistently found that just because students have more technology doesn't mean they are happier or better off. Being a part of an in-person community is still crucial to one's mental health and wellbeing. That's because we are social beings, made to live in community. Which is one reason I'm so blessed to be able to look back and say that, for the great majority of my 45 years of teaching, my in-person classes were usually full and hopefully provided the kind of community that young people were desperately seeking and, I believe, are still seeking. In my opinion, nothing else can provide a deep sense of connectedness and belonging.
