Education 50 Years in the Future by Madison

Education 50 Years in the Future by Madison - May 2020 Scholarship Essay

Education over the past decade or two has gone through various changes. This change is likely to continue for the next few decades as well. The three biggest changes that I think are going to happen in the future are more technology in the classroom, more schools being online, and a bigger focus on the arts instead of just stem classes. These changes are already slowly happening right now and are likely to integrate into education at an increased speed over the next few decades as these ideas gain more speed. Education in 50 years will likely look high-tech with a more equal focus on both the arts and stem classes.

The first major change education will see in the next 50 years is that education and classrooms will become more and more technology dependant. Some classrooms already have tablets, computers, and smartboards. As technology becomes even more embedded in society it is likely to also become more and more embedded into the classrooms. More classrooms will likely gain the technology that is already present and other classrooms will increase the amount of technology present and get newer models of current technology. Education then will become more dependant on technology as an assistive teaching tool. As technology becomes even more commonplace in society, it will also become more and more commonplace in schools and education as assistive tools.

The next major change in education will be where students are taught. With the current pandemic that has caused schools to shut down, many students are now having to do school online. This has shown that school can be done online successfully and some students are likely going to discover that they prefer being able to do school from home. The means to do school online is already available, but its prevalence is likely to increase. In 50 years, a fair amount of students would be able to do school online and will likely choose to do so. Education then could look like a hybrid of online classes and brick and mortar classes or with some students attending online classes full-time with others attending school in a physical classroom.
The last major change that is likely to be found in education in 50 years is what subjects are focused on. Right now the arts are getting more attention and a few people are pushing for them to be given the same level of importance as science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) classes. Getting schools to see that the arts are just as important as STEM is going to take a while, but by the time 50 years go by the arts are probably going to be at least close to the same level as STEM. This would mean that the arts would be encouraged more in schools. It also means that there would likely be more classes in the arts and they may even become a requirement. Education would become broader and more equal.

To keep up with the world, education has to change and evolve so as not to fall behind. In the past, this has meant bigger schools, more classes, the introduction of technology, and a variety of other things. In the future, specifically the next 50 years, the change will be even more technology assistance in schools, online classes becoming more prevalent after a majority of students getting a taste of it, and the arts getting the focus that has previously been lacking. These changes will hopefully make education better and more accessible to all, but only time will tell.