This pandemic is an opportunity to do an education makeover. [View all]

The United States has an outdated, agrarian inspired educational system. In 1900, just under 40 percent of the total US population lived on farms, and 60 percent lived in rural areas. Today, the respective figures are only about 1 percent and 20 percent. So why do schools have 9 months of classes and 3 months of summer vacation? Because the summer months used to be set aside for farm kids to work the family farm and then return to the classroom in the winter months. It made sense for the population over a century ago but does it really make any sense today?

Right now, we have a rare opportunity change education for the next century and beyond. I suggest that we change the learning experience to more suit the needs of our society while we find ourselves being force to adapt to the new reality of COVID-19. But what would that change look like?

If it were mine to change, I would have school year-round in 8 week units. The first six weeks of each 8 week period would be devoted mainly to one area of education such as math, science, or history allowing more in depth exploration of the subjects. The last 2 week would be school breaks that would give the children time to process and unpack the knowledge that they have accumulated during the first 6 weeks and move onto the next unit. Each child would have to pass all 6 units to advance to the next "grade" or more accurately, the next level. No more holding back the eager learners just because some kids needed extra time to learn the subject matter. Nobody falls behind a full year for not passing a single unit nor do they advance just because they put the time in. The traditional cohort of 4th graders for example, would evolve into a classroom of students that would be together for the 6 weeks and then a new group would be assembled for the next unit in the learning series with a random or structured group.

The childcare consideration is the thought that most people latch onto right away. We would certainly have to alter the way we work and utilize childcare but that is hardily insurmountable and could easily be structured more appropriately to the type of society we live in today than the one we lived in over 100 years ago.

You could still have two weeks off for various holidays and summer activities. Family vacations would still happen. More eLearning would be an integral part of the learning process as we see happening today already. This is my opinion of what we need to do to change the educational experience and right now is the window we have to do it.

What are your ideas?