Let’s face it, school matters. Our favorite childhood memories are from physically being inside of a school building, not from being alone in our room doing homework. That is why “learning from home” has been such a challenge for kids, parents, teachers, and administrators alike.
The consensus of experts within education was that the transition would be present a unique challenge for even the best students in the most accommodating homes. At the same time, we may have underestimated just how many students would be hindered to the point of making little to no progress, especially in lower-income African American and Latino communities.
Studies all over the world continue to suggest that children learn vastly less remotely than in-person, and some experts have gone as far as to say that learning remotely is closer to dropping out than it is to attending an in-person classroom. That’s scary.
So as a pragmatic student or a concerned parent, what should you do?
The answer is simple but not easy–find safe ways to participate in more in-person learning. If your school district offers the chance to return in-person this Fall and you feel safe doing so, do it. But also recognize that there is a need now more than ever to supplement traditional schooling with complimentary alternatives and after-school programs in order to “recover” from how little progress was made in the past year.
For those local to North Carolina, a great solution to prepare students for the upcoming school year is the Youth Technology Apprenticeship Camp (YTAC). For the first time ever, YTAC will be launching in-person opportunities for students in both Charlotte and Wilmington in addition to the traditional virtual-based learning. Students will be exposed to the following opportunities:
- Guest lectures from industry experts.
- Formal curriculum and instruction to teach students technology and coding fundamentals.
- Professionally cast Rocket League & Valorant tournaments on Twitch (with a Prize Pool!)
- STEM competitions focusing on game development and programming (with a Prize Pool!)
This opportunity is open virtually to all currently enrolled high school students, and additional in-person opportunities are available to those in Charlotte and Wilmington. To learn more and apply online, visit www.carolinafintechhub.org/YTAC.
Charlotte and Wilmington Residents: Outside of YTAC, there are also a few days left to apply to our summer fintech internship. Applications for the internship close July 16th at 5pm EST so make sure to get your application submitted soon (it should take you less than ten minutes to complete the application). Internships start July 19th!
