A few articles have started to question whether the pandemic might be good in one respect for education: that it gives us the possibility to reassess what an education should look like. It is an issue that has been very much at the back of mind for most professionals and leaders as they deal with the here and now situation of trying to get a heavy freight train back on its tracks after derailment. But this thought-provoking article by McKinsey should add further weight to using this chance to review, and possibly even reform, the content and style of this train and even put it on an different more flexible modern electric circuit, guided from above the locomotive. The article goes on to suggest eight ideas for innovation: “Recommit to what works: get the basics right; Harness technology to scale access; Move toward mastery-based learning; Support children holistically; Help students adapt to the future of work; Invest in new models of teacher preparation and development; Unbundle the role of the teacher; Allocate resources equitably to support every student”. While these are all lofty goals and objectives, unless time is given to think through how change can happen, we are doing an injustice to the children of today and tomorrow.
