That's right. It's a new world.
Children growing up during or after Covid19 will have a whole new paradigm.
Like those who grew up after September 11, 2001.
Like those (in USA) who grew up after Columbine.
Like those who grew up after the war. (Pick which one fits.)
The entire world is at a turning point, and many things will change after this. Today I'm looking at the new Education.
A lot of parents are having to learn how to keep their kids on track at home. Some will not love it, some may find that it works for their family. Regardless, I believe online, at-home Education will become a more popular tool in the future.
When I lived in Indiana, I noticed that there was an online public school system. I know nothing about it, except that I saw ads on TV for something like "indianak12" - dot edu? dot gov? Not sure. I don't have kids. They advertised it as a useful tool for kids with long-term illness or special interests. I remember two ads, specifically - a kid who was on his way to becoming a tennis pro and another who was an aspiring musician. Their outside interests required so much time that online Education allowed them to schedule school around their future goals.
Chinese kids already have a million online classes outside of school hours. The public school system had to do some updating to make regular classes accessible just as the US is doing now, but I imagine families were already used to Education going on in the house and probably had a shallower learning curve.
I remember when University of Phoenix was a new thing, and people thought being Educated online was a bit of a hoax. Then standard, brick-and-mortar universities saw the value of offering such a flexible option to potential students, and it became more acceptable.
Now, it is common. Are you ready?
Are you participating in some form of online Education, with kids in your house now?
You're right about Chinese kids and the at-home-learning model. We have a huge load of after school home-based lessons as it is during regular times. This home-based-learning that we call it (HBL) now during Covid for mainstream schools is not a huge hardship for many households.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I recently finished a bunch of online courses on EdX - did a series of programs on nutrition and found it very convenient since I could do it at my own pace, within the time frame given to each course. I ended my year of learning in February just before Covid took over our lives.
I got my Masters online. Best idea ever. So convenient and made great connections all over the country.
DeleteBut you need two things for online education to work: wifi and parents who are invested. In poorer neighborhoods, kiddos don't have either. I mean, the parents might care, but they might not have the time (or the education themselves) to be able to be of any help. I know all sorts of students who have to do the online stuff at school because they don't have the technology at home.
ReplyDeleteIt's probably dot edu. Most schools have a dot district dot k12 dot state dot edu email suffix for their online stuff.
I'm not saying it will be universal any time soon. I do think that eventually the US will need to step up the reach of Wifi. Here in Asia, free wifi is everywhere. In China it was even on busses.
DeleteBut after all this, I just think there will be a larger percentage of parents who opt for online.
Between school-shooting fears, anti-vaxxer concerns, worldwide pandemics scares, I believe you are right. Online education will be more of a norm and easier to access for the families who choose to pursue it.
ReplyDeleteIt may even be offered by the public school system as an alternative option.
I think that's a long-term direction, for the whole world.
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