When can students return to the classroom? Why do we hear so much about this? Everyone all talking about it non-stop. We have built a world based on the existence of schools. Parents can go to work because the state is taking care of their children. But what are we doing to kids when they are taking care of them? 1- making them anxious about grades 2- making them memorize stuff they will never need 3- creating a world where kids can bully each other 4- making them learn to sit down and shut up 5- preventing kids from following their own interests Imagine a world where kids could choose what to learn. Most kids have that world when they are at home. Why can’t we do this? Because we have been doing it the other way for so long we don’t even see the # alternative. There is important stuff they should learn: ancient literature, the quadratic formula; SP3 bonding. What is the alternative? We set up places (run by teachers who will no longer “teach”) where kids have experiences (virtual and live) that will teach you things. We know how to build high quality online experiences and we know how to build safe places for kids. (Yes, I know the Romans thought it was important to learn history, literature and philosophy.) It has been 2000 years. Time to get over it.
As usual you push the limits ... interesting
Spent 2 day with a friend's young kids on holiday in a small house without much shade in 36 degree weather. Renided me why school was invented. We would have been happy with a home education program for some hours.. That counts for the kids and all 3 adults in the house, myself being the most out of touch with children. But Shakespere the quadratic equation would not have worked..:)
It feels like a mouse trap or maze, where all our generations are going in the same circle of life repeatedly. May be, schools have merely become a business rather than a source of education. Primarily, education is a right and not a privilege. Hence, going digital is the way to go to break-out from the old system.
My granddaughter's school will have no recess, no physical education, no cafeteria, 100% face masks, split classes with half at home and half at school in rotation. I.e. Literally zero fun. A child storage system, at best. A dystopian nightmare at worst. They plan to homeschool.
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I could not agree more. School is an awful and almost useless experience for most children and adults. We should completely re-build it. There are only two shameful and heartbreaking facts I would add: 21% of American children live in poverty, and 17% of American children and teens grow up in homes without a computer. For many children, school is the place where they have reliable access to food and a computer. We should not lose sight of this.