Summer school! Yaaaaay!!!!! No kidding! It’s lean, mean and off-screen. It leads me to this prediction and my hope.
For-profit, homeschool online programs, private and parochial schools, and niche-themed, school-ish entities begin to circle the skies over families hoping to pick at those Parental Choice Tax Credit dollars… meanwhile, many public schools are moving away from programs that put students on screens. We’ve tested the efficacy of exclusively online learning for students of all ages and abilities… and for many districts, the glamour is gone. It seems like we’re re-learning that our superpower is being human. Hmm, ironic. Parents, I hope you will consider literally going old school.
Some critics of public education use the term “government schools”– calling to mind cold, inhuman, institutions of indoctrination. However, HB93 will actually put many Idaho students in homeschools, and other pop-up schooly places, fully on screens. And wherever non-educators are stepping in to “facilitate” learning after kids have been pulled from traditional schools, the need to lean on their for-profit (often ideological) programs will grow. And AI will make them feel quite competent.
The backers of HB93 will agree again that this is all “feature”, no “bug”. Yup, it further erodes the foundational reasons for having a well-educated, well-rounded citizenry in the first place. It makes education into an open marketplace where there will be new choices. But choice has nothing to do with quality. As money bleeds out of public schools, I bet one of the first things to go will be pricey online programs that have had lackluster results anyway.
Some good news is that public education can take full advantage of this moment. It’s our time to harness our human expertise, as well as the sweet spot of balance between offering choice within the framework of high academic standards. We can be the places where kids and families come to learn together, play together, and find an escape from the isolating world of screens. Funny. Students being home online during the pandemic produced some of the most vehement ire against public education in the first place.
If you don’t spend time in a classroom, you may not know how much students of all ages and backgrounds have to learn about simple socialization, person to person, away from screens. When students are socialized to screens it’s always very easy to use chromebooks or tablets like a pacifier–take out the chromebooks for some programmed math game and the class will be learny-looking and silent.
It’s simple–but we lose sight of it. The shiny objects that are literally built for distraction… and only getting better at it through AI… disrupt the process of learning, thinking through, and just being a person with other people. Plus, there’s money in it. And it’s easy. And it’s quiet.
Contrast it with the noise and discord of a group of any-age students + a large bag containing footballs, soccer balls, volleyballs, basketballs + a schoolyard. In a few loud minutes you have somewhat organized games going. You also have disputes, compromise, reorganization of teams, as well as some kids who opt to sit apart and talk with friends or read or draw. Sometimes you have bullying and hurt… but still… there is deep value in unstructured time with others, away from screens. And it’s free.
All of this is absolutely not to say that there’s zero educational value in strategic use of technology. Any parent knows this, too. Just saying, public schools help students learn the art of simply being together in a room, or in a schoolyard, to accomplish goals. We also teach the value of not judging and dismissing a lesson on the basis of whether or not it’s fun, or if it’s what they like, or if it’s what they’re already good at. Practicing by doing difficult things and learning with others helps kids become resilient. Educators hone their skills, too, becoming better and better at helping each student achieve.
Nothing replaces a real-life academic challenge, with real-life diverse partners. The many so-called “soft” skills, alongside the academics, are actually very hard. But gaining proficiency in these life skills makes for much happier, real-life connected, highly-skilled, and stronger people.
