Has This Crisis Really Changed Schools?

With respect to those who stand in awe of all that’s changed about schools in the past few months, I would ask “what’s actually changed?”

I don’t mean to minimize the incredible work that educators around the world have done to respond to this crisis. It’s amazing the scale and speed with which we moved from physical space to remote schooling.

But aside from the venue through which schooling is happening, how else has the overarching narrative truly shifted?

Have power relationships between students, teachers, parents, administrators and policy makers really been significantly reoriented?

Are students now at the center of determining what, when, and how they learn?

Has schooling become more equitable across society?

Has the definition of “success” changed?

Aside from turning to technology to deliver the curriculum, has anything about the curriculum really changed?

Has technology amplified learning instead of teaching?

Has our long-term thinking about assessment shifted in any real way?

Do kids find the experience of school more relevant? Less competitive? More empowering?

Maybe it’s early to ask these questions. But, aren’t the answers to these questions (and others like them) the better measure of what, if anything, has really changed?

(If you’re looking for someone to help you ask these questions in your school community, please get in touch.)