If I have learned anything in my 61 years on the planet, it is that everything changes, and opportunities always present themselves if you watch for them.
Take this year for example. 2022 seems to be a year unlike any other. By this time in the race, I would have thought that COVID 19 would be miles behind us, that schools would be settling into new but successful routines, and districts would be charging away, trying their best to spend the mountains of stimulus money still left in the kitty.
But that’s not the way 2022 seems to be unraveling.
COVID, that crazy little viral SOB appears to continue to have some tricks up its sleeve. And two years later, with a goodly percentage of us vaccinated, the numbers of infected continue to be sky-high. And after two vaccinations and a booster, I was diagnosed as one of the inflicted three weeks ago.
Fortunately, its true what they say, and the vaccinations and booster really do make it a milder version of itself. But even so, I, like so many thousands of teachers and others in the school biz, was required to stay home and get well. Because I work from home, very few were inconvenienced by my virus. But that’s not so true for teachers and school personnel.
Our schools were hit hard, and there aren’t nearly enough substitutes to cover the spread. Districts and states are trying, but admittedly, some of the solutions aren’t making a lot of sense. Take New Mexico, for example. My Friend Franklin Schargel, who lives in New Mexico, tells me their governor’s plan is to send in the National Guard to teach classes.
I agree with the need for in-person learning, but perhaps a bit more remote learning might make sense for a while.
But back to the message.
In the education biz, things are moving a bit slower than we had envisioned. But just know this… it’s coming.
We weren’t dreaming. We really have experienced a sea change in education. The term, ‘That’s the way we have always done it,” is a thing of the past. The Learning Counsel has some very amazing and very valid research that says the rules of time and space have changed in education. All the technology that now greases the wheels of every other industry are finding their way into education. The logistics are changing, and as they do, all the technology you are offering WILL be funded by the mountains of money that is waiting in the wings.
So, Relax. It is coming. Bigtime.
This latest COVID scourge is merely a speed bump. So get out there. For many of you, 2021 was the biggest year you ever had.
2022 will be bigger.
We need to overlook this inconvenient pause, and operate as if we are in the biggest sales bonanza of our lives. Because if we do, two things will happen. The pause will be brief, and we will find ourselves in the biggest sales bonanza of our lives.
The research doesn’t lie.
So put on your boots. Straighten your uniform. And soldier on.
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.
