Have you ever read something that instantly propelled you into the future?
I had one such moment last week reading a newspaper .
A local council in Scotland (where I live) is cutting costs and proposes to cut the school week from the traditional five days to just four. Saving on teacher’s pay, the costs of running the building and resources.
At first reading it seems like a terrible idea, a horrible move in the wrong direction for everyone.
How will working parents manage? What will they do for childcare? And pupils too – will it be a holiday for them? WIll their work not suffer as a result?
And what if budgets continue to be cut- why stop at four days, why not go the whole hog and cut the school week in half? Two schools can be merged, sharing teachers and resources.
The implications are huge. we could all morph into Leonard Mead from Ray Bradbury’s short story The Pedestrian ( if you don’t know it look here)
BUT the more I thought about it the more it made sense. The world has changed. Technology has brought about massive change not least in education and so maybe the school week should be rethought.
More and more people work remotely. The working week for everyone will change.
Exam pressure on children would lessen and that has to be a good thing, right? Maybe, just maybe it could be a good move?
What would all that mean for you? As parents top up education, schools top up education and governments top up education the world of online tutoring and online courses can take up the slack.
The times they are a- changin’!
What do you think?
Is this already happening where you live- with what results?
