DON’T SEND YOUR KIDS TO SCHOOL!

In the last 52 years at least 1,077 American lives were lost in school murders in the U.S.A. (beginning August 1, 1966 at the University of Texas).  By now, today’s American schools are battlegrounds in an ongoing  theater of war.

There are many factors that contribute to this, and many solutions proposed, primarily by breast-beating politicians, but also by educators, concerned parents, and many others.  Books are filled with only a fraction of those approaches.  Yet, I’d like to add one more suggestion to find a solution, which, in my humble opinion, is far more radical AND practical than any I’ve heard from the above so far. 

Fact:

The brick-and-mortar schools in modern America are the killing fields.  At the same time, the  schools are being made into reversed jails, with the students and teachers locked inside, and the attackers outside, free to  attack again.

Never mind, that sitting still on a school chair for hours at a time is not a very learning-conducive environment anyway, nor very healthy.  

In spite of all that being an unfriendly environment, not to mention reluctant toleration by adults, teachers, etc., nowadays kids start learning through the use of their iPhones and tablets far earlier than by “going to school.” They do so by playing video games, searching for information, communicating with peers, parents, and far more. 

INSTEAD:

All conventional “school learning” in brick-and-mortar fortified jail-like enclosures can be switched to ONLINE learning in any location.  Yes, by ONLINE it means, on an iPhone, tablet,  or laptop. The student can be located in their  homes, alone or with parents, or with friends in whatever convenient settings, at ANY time, anywhere.

If so, there’d be no more targets for mass-murderers to take place.  Students would be safer and far more motivated to study and learn whatever there is to learn. The student would also be able to focus on their studies and not on being killed.

This means that the entire educational system would have to be redesigned and restructured.  

• Every student will  be supplied with the device that will provide the educational materials.
• There's got to be WiFi provided for the areas in which students will be conducting their school work.
• Teachers need to begin teaching electronically, in as many possible ways as they can (too numerous to list here) but many of which are already doing so from well known universities and other institutions.

If this change was made, the most remarkable result would be a VERY dramatic cost reduction in the education system. At this point costs of education have been going up and up and away for years, and will continue to do so if the present brick+mortar jail/school practice is to continue.

Again, there’d be a lot more to say about this suggested change in how, when, and where, even what, of education.  PLEASE, everyone concerned is invited to roll out their ideas.  The basic point here is  to make sure the students are  physically safe, and at the same time far more learning-enabled. This can only be accomplished by  giving up the brick+mortar schools.  Instead, ONLINE is the future.