Technological Advances and Teacher Appreciation by Shayna

Technological Advances and Teacher Appreciation by Shayna - May 2020 Scholarship Essay

The question of what education will look like in 50 years has become more relevant over the past few months. Partly as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, education will change forever. People have been exposed to a world of online learning as many elementary, middle, high schools and colleges are transitioning their learning to online for now. Parents and students may be hesitant to fully return to the way school was before.
However, this can’t all be attributed to the COVID-19 crisis. For years, schools have been switching to technology. For example, my school in New York loaned us iPads to submit and complete our schoolwork and homework. More and more schools are turning to technology to help their students and faculty stay organized.
Online learning will become much more common in the next 50 years and it has many benefits. Many students prefer to work at their own pace and there is much greater flexibility with online learning in terms of the learning and the presentation, therefore reaching out to different types of learners and adjusting to different learning styles. Online learning can also be cheaper which eliminates student debt for many students. However, in addition to the academics, social and human interaction during school is important. One of the reasons so many students dorm on campuses for college is because the social aspect of college is very important to them. Regardless of some schools returning to in person learning, in 50 years the educational system will have mastered and utilized new technological advances.
There will be a slight difference in the way technology will be used in college than in middle and elementary school. The reason being that in college, students are expected to be self-sufficient while it is expected that elementary and middle—even sometimes high—school students will need some more personalized attention and in-person classes. Additionally, for working parents, they will want their children to be out of the house interacting with other kids and experiencing the world without parents needing to watch them and skip work.
In fifty years, in addition to the increased use of technologies in schools, I believe there will also be an increased appreciation (and hopefully pay) for teachers and tutors. Regardless if students are learning online or in person, they will still need teachers and tutors to guide them. I have seen so many posts by parents who now have to homeschool their kids and have developed a new appreciation for teachers. As someone who is looking at the educational world as a possible career option, this is very reassuring and comforting.
In conclusion, even though there will still be human interaction within the educational world in 50 years, it will be lessened. Additionally, technology will be utilized more for assigning and submitting homework. Despite all these changes that will happen in the next 50 years, education will still be a valued part of society.