Shakespeare, speaking through the 颅character of Brutus in the drama Julius Caesar, reminds us: 鈥淭here is a tide in the affairs of men/Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune.鈥�
Today, this week and for the months to come, the tide of pandemic restrictions, as difficult as they have been to navigate for some, has given us all the opportunity to pause to think about where we have been, but more importantly, how to adjust to where we are going and what the future will demand of everything we鈥檝e taken for granted 鈥� including public education.
There is talk of a 鈥渞eturn to normal鈥� but, especially in the field of public education, what is the 鈥渘ormal鈥� to which we long to return, or should we be looking to build a 鈥渘ew normal鈥� that prepares kids for a 颅post-pandemic future?
True, the 鈥渘ew normal鈥� tide has brought with it the requirement to accept some minor personal constraints in our everyday lives just to stay afloat, but it also could be the tide that refreshes and renews.
The 鈥渘ew normal鈥� aftermath of 颅COVID-19 is inconvenient and annoying for some, but has been freeing for others in both the 颅public and private sectors, who, needing their organizations to survive the pandemic, have discovered in themselves and their organizations a propensity for innovation.
Small businesses, big businesses, the 颅professions and most organizations that deliver public service of one kind or another have had to re-examine what worked before, and find themselves devising new 颅mechanisms for delivering goods and 颅services to clients and consumers.
In the same way, as the public school system in sa国际传媒 moves, step by hesitant step, back into full operation, it seems to be a timely opportunity for curriculum 颅developers and public-education policy 颅makers at all levels to consider the 颅opportunities that the COVID-19 pandemic has provided.
A benefit of the 鈥渘ew normal鈥� could be that education, once not seriously 颅considered as a major factor in the day-to-day economic, social and political prosperity of the province, is now better understood by all involved as central to provincial success.
It is probably safe to say, for example, that the custodial role schools play in the economic stability of the province is now more clearly understood.
Beyond that, with kids at home taking courses online, parental understanding of what teachers do evolved significantly.
So when we talk about a 鈥渞eturn to 颅normal,鈥� and fully reopening schools, it may be timely to ask whether the old 鈥渘ormal鈥� is what we really want go back to.
Or has the accelerated access to 颅information we and our tech-savvy kids have had access to for some time now opened new opportunities for teaching and learning?
Some influential voices are saying 鈥測es.鈥�
The Conference Board of sa国际传媒 is a 颅not-for-profit think- tank dedicated to researching and analyzing economic trends, as well as progress with organizational 颅performance and public policy issues.
For the Conference Board, public 颅education is certainly one of those issues.
The brief hiatus in the normal 颅operation of public education could provide 颅curriculum developers and policy makers the opportunity to take a deep breath and look more closely at what CBOC is telling them about some of the more influential 颅factors in course design for kids moving into the job market in the 21st century.
That鈥檚 not to say that the fundamentals should be set aside, just that the 颅development of certain skills, not normally front and centre in curriculum design, should become a more influential factor.
CBOC suggests that a student鈥檚 ability to communicate information effectively, not only in written or spoken language but with graphs, charts and accessible forms of technology, should be included in a broader notion of literacy.
A student鈥檚 ability to independently locate, gather and organize information using appropriate technology and 颅information systems will develop higher-level thinking skills.
Students will need to develop the skills and attributes needed to contribute 颅productively and add value to the outcomes of a task, project or team approach to seeking a solution to a problem.
As Shakespeare had Henry IV muse: 鈥淚f only we could read the book of destiny! We鈥檇 see how time changes everything.鈥�
Geoff Johnson is a former superintendent of schools.
