A College Memory
Thankfully, this is no longer politically correct, but way back in my college days, college fraternities had Hell Weeks. In my case, this was a small, conservative, Baptist college, (and this was well before some of the horror stories of the past few years), so it was more like “Heck Week”, but there was still lots of tomfoolery to be endured. (Try reciting the Greek alphabet 3 times while holding a burning match.)
During my own week, one of the upper-class members with a saner perspective pulled me aside in mid-week, and quietly suggested, “Look – if you’re given two contradictory commands, just do the one that is easier/better for you.” Hold that thought.
Recent Happenings
Educationally, things have changed quickly and drastically. I believe the time has come to face the fact that schools are in a damned-if-they-do-or-don’t situation with respect to reopening, staying open, or re-closing. National experiences of recent weeks have begun to strongly suggest that we are simply not quite ready for person-to-person learning again, at least in public schools.
Part of me wonders ‘how can we even think that?!’ But the rest of me wonders, equally as loudly, “How can we NOT think that?” Contradictory messages. Which is why I remember the above advice from my college days. Isn’t it beginning to seem that the ‘better for all’ choice is safety for our children and teachers, while dealing with the unique fallout as best we can?
Please. This is not to minimize this undesirable fallout in any way. Whole new paradigms will emerge as parents try to deal with children at home and the need to be at workplace. It will continue to be difficult, if not impossible, for children in poverty without laptops to have access to online learning. And so on. It’s all a horrible nightmare. But it’s now the smaller of the two nightmares, and it’s one where we can all help.
The Big Question(s)
So let’s face the big question head on. What educational options exist for schools, parents, and our society if we are all forced to adjust to the un-dreamed of circumstances of no physical school?
First let’s note that not being in school isn’t necessarily the same as not learning. Even with the apparent flaws, let’s at least start with various and obvious ways to increase learning at home, whether that learning comes from schools, parents, outside sources, or other creative ventures.
New Paradigms?
Second, we have an opportunity (albeit unwanted) to get creative and think outside the box. What kind of never-before-needed ideas might be out there? Naturally, these aren’t immediately obvious, so I certainly can’t predict them. But the ideas would bubble up, partly because they’d have to.
Perhaps stuck-at-home substitute grandparents e-mailing with students on topics of interest? Small groups of (adult-led?) students attending Zoom meetings on topics of interest? Previously untapped outside educational resources/activities, both with schools and elsewhere? Inventive extra-curricular activities that are ripe with potential for learning? These are clearly spur-of-the-moment brainstorms, but as with many cases of lemonade from lemons, others would develop, multiply, and be fruitful.
If there is ANY silver lining to this pending scenario, it is the one above that almost excites me. We’re probably aware of literally dozens of marvelous inventions that emerged from previous plagues, wars, economy collapses, and other past widespread calamities. (A Google search yields dozens!)
So what kind of ideas or new educational paradigms might emerge from the circumstances forced on us by this world-wide pandemic? Can we step out a level and at least hope there’s a chance that future generations might look back and say, “(that educational paradigm/invention) we now take for granted might never have occurred if there if it hadn’t been for the Covid19 pandemic of 2020”?
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