Past Is Prologue
School as We Knew It Is Over. What Comes Next?
Even before the pandemic, schools weren’t really doing their job
Even when school existed, it felt impossible. As a principal, I was expected to ensure all students tested well in English and math; to produce winning sports teams and an applause-worthy play, with a role for every kid who wanted one; to prevent drug use, sexual harassment, and scientific illiteracy; to add more time for world languages but not take away time from recess.
On Facebook, a viral post asked high schools to teach how to “balance a checkbook, sew on a button, hem pants, change a car tire, change your oil, drive a stick shift, do your taxes, basic first aid.” On a package of bacon, the cooking instructions read, “If you really don’t know how to cook bacon, please contact your elected officials and complain about our education system.”
There are lots of reasons a principal’s job is difficult, but the core problem is the quantity of, and tension among, the mandates schools face. And this was before the pandemic.
Now, public uproar rises about how to do school this fall. In most states, to reduce the coronavirus transmission, fewer than half of children will attend school on any given day, and those who do attend will need…
