Going back to school is both longed for and feared. How does this even begin to happen en masse? But beyond that I have a question. What are we going back to do?
Oh, what a waste this will have been if we are given this choice and we choose to return to the status quo. And even more so if we call them changes but it is merely replication with a new coat of paint.
We have been given a gift in this 2020 year. The tree we knew as reality has been well-and-truly shook, ripped from its roots, turned upside down and shaken out by a virus. We would do well to let the leaves fall rather than try and super glue them all back in place.
Can we do better?
If we unhook every process and policy and norm from its hitching post, and free ourselves to look again at the goals and vision we have for education in this beautiful country, we may stand a chance. I want to think that this is why there have been many delays. That we have put the heavy load down, wiped our brow in the shade of a tree and stopped to consider what it is we carry.
I must hope that we come up with a plan that is not necessarily a single vision but multifaceted just like our country. That we give people what they need in order to be equal, rather than give them equally irrespective of what they need. Can we build an education system that will be applauded internationally, something we are now no strangers to, for its ability to unite, uplift and enable everyone?
Imagine!
I think we can.
