Positive social, behavioral and emotional experiences are necessary for students to excel academically. Simply playing with peers help children to be more socially skilled and do better in school. Doing well in school is directly connected with one’s relations with peers. According to a research, early poor social adjustment leads to future academic difficulties, and eventual failure in school (Bullock, 1992; Ladd et al., 1988; Véronneau et al., 2010).
Relations with peers or classmates are different topics for us online students, because we don’t literally meet the people or the professor in our class. I have had several classes where I don’t even know one person from that class. Some classes require us to work on two or three projects throughout the semester with a group, which allows us to connect with our teammates on a different level than the rest of the class. Even that short and limited connection with my teammates motivate me a bunch and since online classes are hard to focus on in the first place, that motivation is very welcome. I do my assignments more carefully knowing my teammates will be reviewing them before the professor. I log in very early in the week in order to not stall my teammates off. These are not only helping me academically, but also helping me in a professional way. These social interactions are wanted in a professional work environment.
Parents should keep in mind that doing homework is as important as creating the right environment for social interactions with peers. A well-balanced social life indeed is going to bring a higher self-esteem and hence academic success.
Bullock, J. R. (1992). Children without friends: Who are they and how can teachers help? Childhood Education, 69, 92–96.
Ladd, G. W., Price, J. M., & Hart, C. H. (1988). Predicting preschoolers’ peer status from their playground behaviors and peer contacts. Child Development, 59, 986–992.
Véronneau, M.-H., Vitaro, F., Brendgen, M., Dishion, T. J., & Tremblay, R. E. (2010). Transactional analysis of the reciprocal links between peer experiences and academic achievement from middle childhood to early adolescence. Developmental Psychology, 46, 773–790.
I agree with you when you say, as online students we are not able to interact with our fellow classmate expect for when we have group project. As much as I hate group project, I do feel like I know my classmate better after working in a group with them. The finally thing I really like is how you compared parent doing homework to group work in online classes. It is similar to what you experience working in a group you want to put your best fourth forward. As the parent is putting their best foot forward when they help the child with the homework.