Equipped with headphones, students sit stoically in chairs, blue light reflecting on to their faces.

No, this is not a Netflix Marathon. It is Spanish 2.

In the first two months of school, Spanish 2 students started the Edgenuity Spanish 2 course online. On Oct. 7, the district sent out an email informing students and parents that Jessica McMillen will be the new Spanish 2 teacher. Despite McMillen’s arrival, students are still using Edgenuity in class. The administration has not decided how grades from Edgenuity will translate to the new class.

Devoid of human interaction, Edgenuity teaches students how to speak to a computer, not to people. Grades and credit for Spanish 2, however, directly correspond with students’ Edgenuity scores. The administration spent roughly $25,000 on Edgenuity, according to PUSD Chief Financial Officer Ruth Alhadoiyan. The district expended thousands of dollars on this program, but in the end, Edgenuity should only be considered as a supplementary tool, not the backbone of the Spanish 2 course. Edgenuity should not be the source of Spanish 2 grades, and students should rely on McMillen and human interaction over an online course.

McMillen, according to the email sent out by the district, “earned a master’s degree in the Teaching of Spanish as a Foreign Language from the Universidad de Alcalá de Henares in Madrid, Spain.” She also has a Level C2 diploma in Spanish as a Foreign language and a dual Bachelor of the Arts degree.

Human interaction underlies every aspect of learning a language. Students have the opportunity to engage with McMillen and truly progress in their study of the language. That said, if students value their grade, which they get through Edgenuity, over actually learning the language, their Spanish could rapidly regress. Languages are not just a letter on a transcript, it is an essential life skill, an asset that students will carry with them in the future.

Austrian-Philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein said, “the limits of my language are the limits of my world.” I believe wholeheartedly in Wittgenstein’s words because, through studying French for the past four years, I have felt my mind open up to new ideas, new possibilities. If Edgenuity remains the source of grades in Spanish 2, I fear that students will miss the opportunity to dive into a new way of thinking.

Edgenuity poses problems when it comes to progressing in Spanish. For one, according to students in Spanish 2, the only time that students speak out loud in Spanish during the online course is when they are recording themselves into Edgenuity. For this reason, Edgenuity lacks the ability to teach students how to make a human connection with the language. If students actively interact with McMillen in the classroom, this problem can be avoided. Additionally, students say that they can speed through two weeks’ worth of the Edgenuity course in about 20 minutes. Therefore, Edgenuity does not provide a stable, cumulative, curriculum which is so important when learning a language.

I understand that people use online programs such as Rosetta Stone, Babel, and Duolingo to learn a language. While these programs are helpful tools, they are only tools. They could never take the place of a real classroom experience. For this reason, students must engage in classroom activities such as skits, presentations, group discussions, even if they do not contribute significantly to their grades.

And Spanish 2 students, remember, language is an art, not an algorithm. Do not discount the importance of being interactive when it comes to learning a language. Communicate with humans, not a computer.