The Future of Education

 COVID-19 has created this new reality, literally thrusting us toward facing the things we consider normal to determine if they are, in fact, so and continue to be so.

One of those things is education.  Granted, I have some very strong opinions on the matter, but I'm not here to rant or rave or pull you onto one side or the other.  I'm simply here to state a few things that seem to genuinely need considering.

(1) If the world is becoming more digital and more global in how it connects and from where things can be done, why is education still so behind in this facet?  

(2) Higher education does not only mean college.  Labor forces, trades, and other skilled crafts are in just as much demand as they were in the past.  When your AC breaks, you still need someone who knows what they're doing.  If you're building a house or repairing plumbing, you still need a skilled plumber.  Just because the world is becoming more tech-heavy doesn't mean jobs don't exist in the skilled labor trade, and the lack of awareness and emphasis on these wonderful fields and careers has to be considered.  Diversity in skill is still important.

(3) Loans.  I know there is a lot of talk right now about wiping out loans.  As someone who has them, does the idea tantalize my spidy-senses in the hopes that maybe I'll be free from that debt?  Sure.  But i also know i actively chose to have that debt.  Choice is choice.  What's not choice is the debt demanding 6.5% or more in interest.  When you consider wiping out debt, how far back do you go?  And how far forward?  But if you reconsider the interest at which the debt is paid (say, maybe 1%, or 1/2% or whatever) the lender still makes a profit and the solution is scalable.

It's a conundrum I find exists in so many facets of the world - the view is on the band-aid fix and not the scalable opportunity.  Often it may come down to effort, cost, and timeline, but it's unfortunate so many discussions seem to shy away from effort, like effort or work is somehow the culprit or the deterrent.  

"Nothing worth doing is easy" or "if it were easy, everyone would do it", and yet, Easy seems to be the only thing in focus.  And while I have theories on why that may be, it is disheartening to think that seems to have become the new norm.  I have hope we can be better.