Growth Rings: Moving from an Education System to an Ecosystem of Learning

Growth Rings: Moving from an Education System to an Ecosystem of Learning.

"Whether it is acknowledged or not, public education is directly influenced by the social, economic, and political events of the times in which we live.”  

JC Bowman, Executive Director of Professional Educators of Tennessee 

Dr. Bowman's complete remarks can be found at https://www.wgnsradio.com/editorial-our-educational-landscape-is-changing-cms-57313

The Public Education System

The COVID-19 pandemic has globally awakened mankind to realities that were once important and believed to be true in public education. Issues range from standardized state testing; a school calendar based on the agriculture growing cycle; Carnegie Units for credit based on seat time; and the application of 20^th Century Industrial Systems thinking to learn, are among the topics being discussed. COVID-19 has exposed the inability of public education to adapt and be flexible in times of change. 

Public education for the last 20+ years has resisted change in part because parents, students, educators, and policymakers had not wanted it. PreK-12 public education and legacy education institutions, colleges, and universities have downplayed and discouraged community colleges and career and technical education. The linear focus of public education was to prepare students for college and for a happy, successful and fulfilling life. 

Fearless Teachers and Administrators

It is inspiring to see the courage and innovation of teachers and administrators trying to navigate through this crisis of school closures and social distancing.  From teachers embracing Zoom for video conferencing to administrators parking WIFI enabled school busses in neighborhoods with no internet access, to teachers connecting, sharing, and collaborating via Twitter, there is an emerging energy of discovery and learning.  Teachers concerned about their students’ well-being are reframing relationships. Administrators are planning virtual graduations for the class of 2020. All are acts of love and care. 

Jumping Forward Without a Plan.

The heated debate on the use of technology, “Screen Time”, and distance learning has been replaced with districts reallocating funds to acquire laptop computers for students and teachers and then scrambling to roll out online learning. However, moving to E-learning as an option for students only works if you have internet access. Additionally, if teachers are not prepared or knowledgeable to educate students on a digital platform, these efforts are doomed to fail.

For students who do not have access during this time of school closure, districts have prepared and made available “worksheet packets”. All these actions are reactionary with no guarantee of success, assurance of deep learning, or mastery of content. Our system of education is transforming right before our eyes. 

Post COVID-19 - A (Potential) Glance into the Future

Social, economic, and political events are now aligned and accelerating change from the 20^th Century to the 21^st Century. Although we did not realize it at the time, advances in technology prior to COVID-19 created digital tools, coupled with the internet and social media, prepared mankind for the crisis.  Though we are now being told, for our safety, to “shelter in place” so as to “flatten the curve” of the spread of COVID-19, mankind may be physically isolated, but we are digitally connected.

This shut down of the economy and schools in the United States has caused families to have meals together again and reflect on what is truly important.  Financially, folks are reviewing their expenses and discerning needs from wants and how that is reflected in their spending and purchases. This, along with the growing dependence on the online marketplace, remote working, and ELearning are transforming the American culture and economy.  The COVID-19 crisis has caused the need to let go of old thinking, unlearn and learn new, to be creative, collaborative, and imaginative so as to adapt and survive.  

An Ecosystem of Learning - New Growth Rings

The COVID-19 crisis, its aftershocks and how we deal with them, will define and bring into focus the “New Normal’.   Foundational to everything will be mankind’s ability to learn, unlearn and up-learn. Now, more than ever, teachers are needed. However, not to teach content, but to teach how to think, problem-solve, be creative, collaborate, learn, and adapt. We have not reached the other side yet, and until we do, all is in flux. This is a “Printing Press Moment in History,” and the Growth Rings that will be created through the COVID-19 crisis experience is reshaping all of mankind.

"As educators, we need to get out of the education business and into the learning business. If not we will make the same mistake as the railroad industry. Early on they should have transitioned into the transportation business….instead, they stayed focused on the railroad business. As a result, they are losing money, greatly minimized and government-subsidized. Today there are more people that need to learn than children in our schools….the opportunity and need is upon us"   

John Phillipo, Founder and Executive Director, Center for Educational Leadership and Technology (CELT)

One thing is now for sure: Learning is the New Normal.