Okay. I am officially in the Twilight Zone.
For the life of me, I don’t understand why schools aren’t going crazy over the $130 Billion (+) still left to be spent from the various stimuli funds.
As I read the headlines in the education press, there is not one word about that magnificent mountain of cash, just sitting out there.
So, what is dominating the education press these days?
Let’s just flip through the news together, shall we?
From Edutopia –
After Social Isolation, Preparing Our Youngest Students to Thrive
6 Unproductive Ways to Learn Math Basics—and What to Do Instead
3 Strategies to Reduce Student Burnout
How to Create Classroom Agreements Using Poetry
Thrilling stuff, Edutopia.
How about DA Tech?
The education industry is now the no. 1 target for cyberattacks
How the right communications platform can strengthen your school community
How to safely reintroduce devices onto school networks
And their sister publication, DA Daily –
Politics are invading schools. Here are 4 ways to help educators cope
Education Secretary Cardona addresses nationwide teacher shortage
Following Uvalde, TEA Commissioner speaks on school security protocols for school year
And of course, the big gun in the education world, Education Week –
Study: More students being taught below grade level
Ga. high school blends AI into all subjects
Breezing through the headlines, this year looks like the start of any other school year. But it isn’t like any other school year. Because in this school year, we need to figure out the smartest way to spend over $135 Billion in hard, cashy money in under two years.
Shouldn’t we at least be having some conversations?
Perhaps it is so much money, it just doesn’t seem real. Afterall, our total spend nationally on EdTech the entirety of last year was $39 Billion. That’s everything. Hardware. Software. Curriculum. Networks. Support. The whole kit and caboodle. And we’re talking about three and a half times that. It’s more money than I can imagine. Possibly more than you can imagine. Any hardware. Any software. Any curriculum. Anything your district could imagine buying. And what the heck, buy a couple extra in case yours breaks.
Now, wouldn’t you think with the clock running on that absurd pile of cash, we should be doing some planning? Some what-iffin?
But no. We are still walking around, moaning about the same old stuff. Hey Edutopia, instead of “6 Unproductive Ways to Learn Math Basics—and What to Do Instead,” how about a headline like, “Let’s build the ultimate middle school metaverse, make it the coolest thing in the world, and see how much our kids can learn?” Or how about, “Using AI to help your students build a rocket, and then let the winners ride in it?”
This is an opportunity to jump way the heck out of the box. This is a chance to make the changes you have always wanted to make. This is everything we have ever asked for, with a cherry on top.
Or we can be like EdWeek, and blow the lid off the story, “Study: More students being taught below grade level.” There’s a headline for you.
I’m not saying we should create the best education system in the history of the world. Because hey, there are way too many important things to tend to. Like DA Daily says, “Politics are invading schools. Here are 4 ways to help educators cope.”
All these publications are great, high-quality publications, and I read them all. And these headlines are certainly important ones. But why can’t we think a tad bigger? While we have this once-in-a-generation opportunity in front of us, why can’t we really blow it out of the water? As education’s leaders, why aren’t you asking questions like, “How can I change the lives of my students, and their children’s lives, too?” Or “How can we make education the most interesting, exciting experience of our student’s young lives?”
Maybe education doesn’t have to be the 13 long years in which students languish to prepare themselves for adulthood. Why can’t these 13 years, which incidentally are almost a quarter of their lives, be amazing in their own right? Why can’t these years be important and not preparatory? Why can’t they be fun and rewarding?
Dang.
If only we had the cash to make it happen.
About the author
Charles Sosnik is an education journalist and editor and serves as Editor in Chief at the Learning Counsel. An EP3 Education Fellow, he uses his deep roots in the education community to add context to the education narrative. Charles is a frequent writer and columnist for some of the most influential media in education, including the Learning Counsel, EdNews Daily, EdTech Digest and edCircuit. Unabashedly Southern, Charles likes to say he is an editor by trade and Southern by the Grace of God.
