School in September

How should we approach the opening of school in Sept? 

Schools of the future need to be rethought. 

When I started teaching I wrote a letter from the future to each of my students asking them to attend their 30 year high school reunion. ( I was younger then so I figured 30 years out I would still be able to attend. )

The idea was to get students to picture themselves as adults and to imagine a future they have helped shape. I received wonderful letters from future dentists, artists and millionaires. The return address to the invitation was “School name, Community Learning Support Centre”. In the future of education that I pictured schools would be community spaces that would double as senior learning centres as well as community resource places. 

I thought of that this week as I read a proposal in a NYTimes OpEd by Dr. S Jogee, an Astronomy professor and parent, suggesting we make kids stay home this fall if they can access online learning and leave schools open to only those who do not have easy access to wifi and digital tools. It is not really a hybrid model as all of the instruction would still be online, but the school would be open for kids to access wifi, computers, and educational supports they require including teachers to aide them in their work. 

Think of a library- with a librarian there to support except that the support would include a safe place to work, meals, as well as resources and the expertise to access them.

It is a very good idea and one that Universities are offering to students who will still be living on campus even though their course are online. 

In her Op Ed, Jogee says,

“Allow schools to offer only virtual classes this fall, and convert schools and other large unused spaces into Safe Centers for Online Learning. We could call them not schools, but “SCOLs.” 

I had a similar vision when I looked 30 years into the future of my career. It’s only been 23, but the future is here and is demanding new depths of resources and resilience so why not use our schools to support the most disadvantaged while keeping all of us safe and sound of mind? 

But how would we staff these SCOLs? 

“Recent college graduates could be recruited to work at these centers, and a college loan forgiveness program could incentivize participation. While some teachers could opt to work in a SCOL, most would be able to work remotely and spend their time developing effective online classes.”

It really is a great idea. Maybe someone should tap Lecce and forward him the article???

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“How to Reopen the Economy Without Killing Teachers and Parents, “

By Shardha Jogee

NYT OpEd

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