Amidst the COVID-19 health crisis disrupting educational and instructional continuity, students, parents, and educators are asking and being asked questions about the current educational process, which is also spurring discussions about the value of education.
The following is a selection of education-related news stories from the past few weeks, offering insights about the shifts in both K-12 and higher education:
- As we discussed here and here, given the likelihood of subsequent virus breakouts in Fall 2020 and Winter 2021, intermittent “shelter-in-place” orders may be necessary to protect the public health. However, the question remains: how long will students and parents extend their goodwill and patience while “waiting” for the traditional residential college experience to resume?
Feeling Shortchanged, Inside Higher Ed, April 13, 2020
- Students’ argue for tuition refunds, since they’re not experiencing the full residential college experience, living and studying together with thousands of peers, surrounded by hundreds of professional staff who’s sole job is to nurture the next generation. In the transformation of instruction to distance learning models, are university officials myopic in their efforts, creating a rift with students and the public trust in the value of education?
Students on remote learning: More creativity, interaction needed, Education Dive K12, April 21, 2020
- “Self-directed learning” is not a skill that is typically prized in the modern academic meritocracy, as to earn ‘A’s’ means strictly following the teacher’s directions, often mimicking their thoughts and ideas in order match the criteria of the grading rubric. Yet, with distance learning, millions of students now have to determine how they’ll learn on their own time, and in the physical disconnect between teacher and student, many students roam the internet to find other sources to “teach themselves” when the lesson is unclear, learning to be more self-directed.
- According to a recent Public Policy Institute of California, parents are concerned their children’s educational progress is stalled, since they’re doubting that “productive learning experiences” are being replicated at home.
