The Future of Education

The global catastrophe that occurred due to the pandemic affecting all of our livelihoods and plans has been nothing short of disruptive. Many folks had to dip into savings. Money that was saved for future rainy days or even college was used to live on during the lockdowns and the subsequent closures of businesses. Colleges and universities were forced to close and when they did open back up they moved a lot of their teaching online. On the surface, this seems to be a good idea. You can learn from home and save on accommodation. You don’t have to commute to an out-of-state college to get a first-rate education, you can do it from home. Or can you?

The Covid -19 pandemic spurred a series of innovations in the education sector because people had to work it out. There is a constant demand for education and when you are locked down with loads more time on your hands you suddenly can find the time to take an online class and further your education. People work from home more than ever and their commutes are gone. Colleges have embraced more flexibility, offering both virtual and in-person learning. They are also more flexible than before when it comes to admissions. According to Harvard, students will be able to apply to the Ivy League school without submitting SAT or ACT scores for at least the next four years. This is a policy that many colleges have adopted during the pandemic. It appears more and more are jumping on board and it looks set to stay that way for many years to come.

The problem lies with online education itself. Learning from a virtual source doesn’t instill the same confidence in the students. A survey found that only 34 percent of students believe they will graduate with the skills and knowledge to be successful in the job market. Similarly, just 36 percent of the students felt that they would be prepared for the workplace. The Center for Disease Control (CDC) suggested that virtual learning had its own risks. According to the CDC it “might present more risks than in-person instruction related to child and parental mental and emotional health and some health-supporting behaviors.”

More than half of public school K-12 teachers said the pandemic resulted in a “significant” learning loss for students, both academically and from a social-emotional standpoint.

 

 

 

 

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