TRUSTEE REPORT – Judi Hunter – Jul 2022

Reflections on Education and Where it is Headed

I had the pleasure of listening to a program sponsored by the Atlantic called the New Way Forward. This is the link: youtu.be/DZ6Pxfzwoeg

The program examined the learning process from K-12 to post-secondary to the world of work. Through this analysis a variety of knowledgeable speakers shared their expertise. In the K-12 environment, the speaker posited that K-12 education is relational not transactional. The importance of the K-12 work was further acknowledged by Larry Summers a professor emeritus at Harvard university who said the K-12 education is the vital work of community for which there is no business model. It is for that reason that, I believe, that while K-12 education is seen as critical to society, it often receives short shrift in attention, vision and funding. The program went on to elicit how COVID has changed education forever. It highlighted the gaps in our educational system, has pointed out inequities and has highlighted the establishment of new partners in learning.

Rachel Carlson in the second part of the program offered some astounding statistics indicating that only 27% of all post-secondary students attend traditional campuses, 55% of students are parents and most are working and attending post-secondary. Cost was given as a major impediment to upgrading of skills. When you consider that the average person has less than $400.00 in the bank, it is not surprising that most students have difficulty of coming up with tuition fees. The speaker spoke to the important role of corporations in assisting workers to develop their career paths. Walmart and Amazon were leaders in this area helping workers understand short term goals and attaining learning certificates that can lead to a career path. Government policy in this area would be helpful in allowing people to work while upgrading or re-skilling. Many of today’s jobs are becoming extinct due to automation and technology.

Director of the New Economy and Society – World Economic Forum , Ms. Zahidi, reported that of the world’s 3 billion workers, 81% had their employment totally or partially affected by COVID.

Of those who have lost their jobs one half will permanently lose that employment.

Ms. Zahidi cites the following trends identified in the workplace today

1. Remote work is a reality for the white -collar workforce
2. Service/blue-collar workers will be impacted by machine replacement
3. The care economy is due to long overdue re-evaluation of the work
4. The “Gig” economy has provided no safety net for workers.

She said that governments need to build back better, and this would be achieved through upskilling and reskilling. Presently, governments do not have the systems in place to scale this training.

Also on topic was identification of new employment opportunities:

1. Green economies and fields
2. Technology
3. Care economies
4. Specialized sales

What does this mean for schools and K-12 education? In my view a view, a few things come to mind. Firstly, that education (learning) is a life-long process. In an ideal world, educators will be able to personalize the learning for students and provide opportunities and mentorships so that students can maximize the time offered in the K-12 arena.