2.6 Assignment - Critical Reflection Journal-Blog

Rethinking Learning in the 21st Century

Write a reflective blog post on this week’s readings, Roundtable dialogue, and/or your action research learnings. The blog writing may be your choice, but it must be substantive, including outside scholarly works, etc.

Before COVID-19 caused a massive closure of schools around the globe, Azevedo (2020), lead economist for the World Bank, said, “the world was in the middle of a learning crisis that threatened efforts to build human capital—the skills and know-how needed for the jobs of the future.”  He also indicated that “more than half (53 percent) of 10-year-old children in low- and middle-income countries either had failed to learn to read with comprehension or were out of school entirely.” 

Even before the COVID-19-related school closures of 2020, schools continue to be even further off track from achieving their learning goals.  Smith and Meier (1994), in their article "Politics, Bureaucrats, and Schools," contend that private schools perform better than public schools.  If this is true, one could surmise then that if private entities run schools, they produce better results.  What would public schools look like if they were run like businesses?

The students, in essence, are our customers, and education is the product we sell.  Like in the business world, there is competition, and those businesses that provide the best product or service will survive, and those that don’t.  This may seem a bit cold or black and white, but it is the reality in the business world. 

If schools continue to be run by local governments and school boards, perhaps they should work to reduce bureaucracy in public schools.  Smith and Meier (1994) contend that policymakers and administrators should work to reduce bureaucracy in public schools. Perhaps it is time to have a serious conversation about education and how to best prepare students for the future.  Ultimately, I believe parents should actively participate in their child's education and be part of the solution.

References

Azevedo, J. P. (2020, December 22). COVID-19 has fueled a global ‘learning poverty’ crisis. Retrieved from www.weforum.org: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/12/covid-19-pandemic-education-learning-poverty-world-bank/

Smith, K. B., & Meier, K. J. (1994). Politics, bureaucrats, and schools. Public Administration Review, 54, 551–558. https://doi.org/10.2307/976675