The Future of Education is Hybrid

The most important underlying reason for formal schooling is to prepare students for their future lives: being upstanding citizens who do valuable work that contributes to the greater good of society. Education should therefore be relevant to both the current and future needs of students. The pandemic forced us all to adopt fully virtual models of communication and business operations. Any industry that took too long to adapt simply got left behind and now even in the wake of COVID-19, is still playing major catch up with their counterparts who were quick on the draw. To our great surprise, some companies performed twice as well employing fully virtual methods when compared to their traditional physical methods of yesteryear. Workers all over the world have been brazen to say that they will even quit their stable, secure jobs if they had to return to fully physical modes of operations. This has resulted in some of the largest, globally renowned companies adopting hybrid models post-pandemic. If the world of work is hybrid, then it is of great importance that education follows suit. After all, the most important underlying reason for formal schooling is to prepare students for their future lives.

Okay so now that we have established the relevance of a hybrid future of education, let’s talk about a few reasons why our kids are more than equipped to adopt a hybrid model:

• Our kids are “digital natives.” They grew up in a highly technologically advanced world. Millennials and Gen X you might need to sit down for this one. But, the fact remains that all of the major advances of the late 1990’s and early 2000’s that we were so amazed to witness, are the norm for our kids. They have no clue about dial-up internet or even phones with buttons. Our kids were born into a time when they could instantly chat with someone from another side of the world from the comfort of their sleek touchscreen phone or tablet. Unlike us, who had to continuously adapt, (and fellow ancient ones: adapted we have), our kids operate as though their devices are extra appendages. Our kids have taken up residence on their devices and therefore we must provide them with digital experiences that stimulate learning and development rather than just using the devices for entertainment or babysitting.

• Our kids are very adaptable. Do you remember when your child was 2 years old and every single thing he/she did was boast worthy? Everyone and their mother were informed of how much of a quick learner your kid was. It remains a total mystery how your family didn’t become an internet sensation for beauty and brains. Well the good news is that your child is still probably more adaptable than you give him/her credit for. The bad news is that too often parents inculcate their own limiting beliefs in their kids. Stop saying that your child learns better traditionally just because you “know what’s best.” Unless, of course, you are an experienced, qualified educational professional who has personally taught and assessed your child’s learning capabilities using a diverse range of tools and teaching methods. But if not, you will be better off trusting the experts when we say that the kids can adapt. (You can book a free consultation with me using this link https://www.tgarcia.education/freeservices

• Our kids are “smart” workers. Believe it or not our kids are more inclined to working smart than working hard. “There’s an app for that dad.” Have you ever heard that one? It’s not that they’re lazy or they don’t want to put in hard work. Kids just want to have fun. And let me tell you, adults would love to do the same. Yet, somehow we have a tendency to feel like if things aren’t painstakingly difficult that we’re not doing enough. Let me just say, I’m writing this blog on my phone because “there’s a google doc app Karen.”

It is absolutely no secret that all industries are making massive digitization efforts at a much more rapid rate than ever before. This is undoubtedly the new norm and the world at large has no intention of reverting to our traditional modes of operation. It is high time that we truly make the effort to provide teaching and learning opportunities that are relevant to a person’s real-world needs. The future of education is hybrid.