Before the pandemic I was an advocate of part-time school for the academic portions. It would have been for those whose home lives, internet services and family preferences allowed, noting this would not be a level playing field for the disenfranchised.
I saw the pandemic coming and started the conversation especially when I saw our property taxes continuing to go up and was searching for a way to reduce the expenses in the school systems.
As a grass roots public health advocate I ran for Arlington city council during the fracking craze. I have been blogging (about the health risks associated with urban drilling especially near schools) for a decade now on BarnettShaleHell.wordpress.com. I have turned all my fractivism skills currently to masktivism and see how dangerous in-school would be during a pandemic.
I feel regardless of where the student is learning, the academic lecture portions should be streamlined as prerecorded YouTube videos with virtual teachers chosen who are most skilled in oratorical presentation as well as in their field expertise. Having the best of the best teach uniformly at a national level is for efficiencies of scale. This would be paid for at the federal level. Access to videos allow for self paced instruction (ease of note taking to pause the video or rewind to re-listen to) and so student advance without any distractions or disruptions associated with group learning. Advancing to harder material while not having a strong foundation in some classes is counterproductive.
All other teacher careers can then be focused on academic real time tutoring, fine arts, athletics, and special needs. Some of those jobs could still be virtual whether the students are remote or at school because reducing in-person interactions is key during a pandemic.
This idea came to me when I saw online that some teachers were selling their highly regarded lesson plans making more than their salaries in some cases and thought…why reinvent the wheel?
At some point if not already, artificial intelligence could be built into individualized lesson plans based on the work the students turn in so as to identify strengths and interests. If you would forward this to your favorite computer geeker so we can find out, that would be appreciated.
As a substitute teacher in the AISD school system for about six years prior to the fracking craze. I preferred the OCS (on campus suspension) jobs because I easily lose my voice and cannot project talk for extended periods. I saw firsthand how much work is accomplished outside of group paced learning. Seeing the “problem” students thrive with tutoring had me regularly requesting more assignments. This convinced me how much more work is accomplished outside of group paced learning.
Having academics in the home is vital during a pandemic. We have upset the balance of nature such that we are probably going to see more school disruptions with viruses and extreme weather events.
Reducing teacher costs and the number of students participating in at-school learning is important for public health in social distancing. Cost savings should translate to more affordable property taxes on our dwellings.
Ultimately this pandemic is forcing the schools to utilize remote learning and in the process could facilitate students having access to superior lecturers and lesson plans, real time tutoring, and artificial intelligence guiding them to realize future career choices. If we see cost savings from streamlining student services…lets go with it.
If the virus is hurling a bunch of lemons at us….how bout passing that lemonade?
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