What if We Took Our Chance to Change Education Forever?

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What if We Took Our Chance to Change Education Forever?

Brian Costello 


One of the many major sectors that have been drastically altered by the surreal events throughout 2020 has been education.  Hundreds of millions of school-aged kids and young adults have seen their traditional school setting either significantly changed, or in some ways, completely destroyed.  Back in April of this year educators across the world and the world wide web were looking at the tragedy as an opportunity to rebuild the system and create a better world in which our children can learn.

Fast forward eight months, and as we look to put a year full of tragedy and disruption behind us, so many schools around the world are rushing to return to "normal". Unfortunately, for so much of the world, normal was no longer filling the needs of learners and society in the 21st Century.  We've had the chance, and while many of us have been pushing ideas to try and change education for the better, there are still strong forces fighting against change.

Now is still the time.  There are still so many opportunities to create a better way to help people improve their ability to thrive in the modern world.  What that means for everyone can be different things, but the ability to develop critical thinking, information literacy, emotional intelligence, and more do not fit the current model in many ways.  Despite the attempts to push these well-rounded ideas into square holes, the system is struggling and in many ways has been for a long time.

What if we take this chance to change how we engage with learning? What if we change the learning experience for everyone, from child to adult? What if we embrace what we love about learning, about curiosity, about developing ourselves? This is our goal as educators. As the year comes to a close, this one the major reflection in my mind.  What can we still do to take this chance to change education for the better, forever?

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