Keeping your mind in good health is as important as keeping your physical body in shape. GCO’s own Joyce Mayberry and Katherine Greene join us to discuss tips on how you can identify poor mental wellness and how to address it.
This week we are celebrating Teacher Appreciation Week across the U.S. A lot of parents today find themselves in the unexpected role of teacher. In fact, we’re in the middle of the biggest virtual learning experiment in American history. It was recently announced that Georgia schools would be closed through the remaining school year, meaning school classrooms won’t open again until August 10. Experts are warning that mass school closures threaten kids’ academic social lives, not to mention their psychological well-being.
To cope, school districts are moving to virtual learning. But many schools are ill-equipped for this sudden and dramatic shift. One analysis of 82 school districts found that “most districts are still not providing any instruction.”
Our current school system was designed for the Industrial Age. As Kerry McDonald of the Foundation for Economic Education writes, “As factories replaced farm work and production moved swiftly outside of homes and into the larger marketplace, 19th century American schooling mirrored the factories that most students would ultimately join. The trouble is that we have left the Industrial era for the Imagination Age, but our mass education system remains fully entrenched in factory-style schooling.”
To expand virtual learning, we will need to:
One of the biggest reasons why more public schools haven’t moved to online learning is equity concerns. As National Public Radio reports, “Just over half of the nation’s public school children are from families considered low-income, and an estimated 12 million lack broadband Internet access at home.” The National Center for Education Statistics reports that about one-quarter of students below the poverty line have no access to the Internet or, at best, dial-up access only.
Aside from income, geography is another factor, with students in more rural areas having less access to Internet services. What’s more, poorer school districts might not be able to offer take-home technology to students in the form of iPads and laptops.
There are a number of steps Georgia school districts may take to address the disparity right now. Much of it has to do with the proper allocation of educational resources: What about buying a tablet device or laptop for every student in Georgia? Ensuring that every home has broadband access? These are only a few of the strategies that Georgia could implement.
Imagine this: Fall 2020 rolls around and coronavirus is still running rampant. Schools are still closed. Will we delay education for these kids indefinitely? The answer is obviously no. That means we need to begin looking at education differently: Through a technology-focused lens that centers on individualized ways to educate students.
Looking to the future, Georgia needs a renewed focus on the virtual classroom after the crisis abates. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual learning was well on the rise and the wave of the future. What would the current crisis look like had we focused more heavily on expanding access to virtual learning?
The truth of the matter is that virtual learning options are abundant and growing. Khan Academy is a free resource bank of online courses, lessons, and practice tools. Duolingo is a free way for kids to learn a foreign language. The Smithsonian has an online hub of digital resources from across its museums, research centers, libraries, archives, and more.
To be clear, virtual learning can and should grow, but it’s not the right fit for everyone. The goal should be to create an education infrastructure focused on the needs of individual students. For some families, that will be brick-and-mortar schools. For others, a virtual learning environment. And for still others, the key to success will be blended learning, combining virtual learning with traditional classroom time.
What the coronavirus pandemic has shown us, however, is that we are still woefully behind on creating a truly effective virtual learning environment.
Georgia’s Gov. Brian Kemp issued a new executive order today outlining guidelines as Georgia resumes more of a pre-coronavirus lifestyle. Many of the guidelines come with strict stipulations for businesses to follow in order to remain open.
GCO’s Vice President of Public Policy, Buzz Brockway, put out a Facebook live video with the answers. Please take a look below!
Highlights:
Bring the family together and create priceless memories and meaningful input from all family members. Fellow community partner: Strengthen Families Program, Certified Trainer P’Angela Jones is joined by her husband Darryl and the entire Jones family to demonstrate.
As stories continue to mount on the impact of the current COVID-19 pandemic on individuals and communities, the Georgia Center for Opportunity recognizes the need to come together as communities. This is already happening with social distancing becoming the new norm. The next step is for businesses, workers and patrons to begin to take the responsibility on themselves to provide safe environments. With the guidance of health experts, Georgia has the opportunity to be an example of how responsible individuals can come together to combat a common threat.
On April 21, 2020, a day after Governor Brian Kemp outlined steps to safely reopen Georgia’s economy, the Georgia Board of Cosmetology and Barbers issued guidelines on how its licensees may resume operations while looking after public health and safety. This step sets an example for other industries so that all Georgians can get back to work again in a safe and successful manner.
The task for reopening the economy is uncharted territory complicated by the fact that Georgia has 233,500 employer-based establishments, according to the most recent data from the U.S. Census Bureau. There are not only differences between industries, but operations and practices can vary widely among business firms within industries. While we can rely on licensing boards and other government agencies to develop guidelines within their purviews, the complexity of the economy demands more.
The Georgia Center for Opportunity (GCO) believes that the only way the Governor’s initiative to reopen the economy can be successful is if business leaders, employees, and customers innovate and adapt to operations under the new circumstances. The best solutions will bubble up from individuals at the local level who will develop practical solutions to safely resume activity. While we all properly look to the Governor for his leadership, success will depend on how each member of the community responds. Local heroes will rise to the occasion in their own ways and set an example for us to follow.
Therefore, GCO recommends a process to help facilitate the Governor’s directive for reopening the economy. The hope is that it will allow the economy to operate under a restricted environment until it is possible to return to full functioning without concern for public health, such as having the population protected with a Covid-19 vaccine or a medication available that is both safe and effective against the virus.
To help ensure the success of reopening the economy, GCO recommends the Governor establish a task force to invite business leaders to submit guidelines specific to their industries. The Governor can use these industry-specific guidelines produced by this process to help him make further decisions on how to effectively and safely bring Georgia’s economy fully back. Furthermore, by making the guidelines available publicly, it will help others determine the best ways they, too, can resume activities safely.
The proposed task force will notify business leaders of the opportunity to set up teams for their industry. These teams will draw up guidelines on how businesses in their industry will resume operations in a safe manner, consistent with CDC guidelines and other guidance provided by the Commissioner of Public Health.
The task force may initiate contact with business leaders and invite other industries to form teams. Businesses are responsible for writing the guidelines. In other words, the task force will not write the guidelines. Its job is to facilitate the process and to assist where needed. This approach relies on innovation and the resilience of individuals that have been the hallmark of American prosperity. It also recognizes that the best solutions rise up from individuals at the local level.
The members of the task force should be state officials and key government staff of the Governor’s choosing, and the Governor may elect to appoint private citizens to participate in the task force as well. For example, among those the Governor chooses for the task force may include the economic development commissioner, the labor commissioner, key staff from the Governor’s office, an economic advisor, and perhaps a well-known business leader.
Under the proposal, the Commissioner of Public Health plays a critical role. Business leaders, employees, and customers need good and trustworthy information to help them make good decisions. Therefore, the Commissioner will provide guidance, including forwarding CDC information, on how to stop the spread of infectious disease. It is important to formalize her role in this process so that her team can be fully engaged in providing guidance to businesses, employees, and customers.
The information provided by the Commissioner will be crucial to the business teams, allowing them to develop their industry-specific guidelines. As new information and technologies on stopping the spread of infectious disease become available, the commissioner will provide updates. These updates will enable the industry teams to modify their guidelines appropriately.
In turn, small and large businesses alike can use the guidelines to devise practices and protocols on how they can resume operations safely.
Business leaders will volunteer their time and are expected to put together their own teams of experts to devise the guidelines. When the proposed guidelines are ready, they simply submit them directly to the task force.
Under this proposal, businesses are free to form their own teams and submit their proposals even if they were not approached by a member of the task force.
One of the first actions of the task force should be to establish a central website with easy access and easy navigation to all industry guidelines and announcements. In addition, the website should provide links to guidance from the Commissioner of Public Health and the names of the industry team members to facilitate communications. This website should go online as soon as possible
Reopening the economy is extremely important. The livelihoods of Georgians are dependent on it. Moreover, a strong economy is the best policy against poverty, and we certainly do not want to thrust more Georgians into poverty. Therefore, we must find ways to safely resume activity within the current environment. Georgia can be an example to the nation, but its success depends on how we as individuals respond and innovate.
