Please welcome my guest author, John Brown, with his take on education in a post-COVID-19 world.
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Education has been altered at all levels during the last two years. Getting back on track after experiencing learning losses during the pandemic is daunting for millions of children. While the Department of Education folks are figuring out how to help reverse these losses without harming state budgets, many parents choose to take matters into their own hands. As a result, there has been an unprecedented spike in requests for tutoring services in the USA. Let’s face it; most children need a teacher to sit with them and keep them focused on their studies.
The costs are often too steep. Parents who have no cash reserves for rainy days like these are looking for some viable borrowing options. Some families turn to online lending portals like GetCash.com, especially if they don’t have access to secured bank loans due to a poor credit score or a short credit history. Online lending services can connect them to lenders with the right deals for different situations.
Reasons to Get Worried
Even though such trends might seem overdramatic, the stats prove that there are reasons to be worried and start dipping into the family savings. On average, children are about five months behind in maths and at least four months behind in reading because they cannot attend school in person. Eventually, such learning losses translate into a significant loss of future income. Fewer high school graduates enroll in universities. Additionally, dropout rates among high schoolers are staggering. According to rough estimations, by 2040, the potential annual GDP loss due to extensive school closures and disrupted learning during the COVID-19 pandemic could amount to up to$188 billion.
The Effects of Tutoring
In the meantime, tutoring has consistently proven to be effective at helping students catch up, especially if these students are from earlier grades. Statistically, significant effects have been revealed in over 80% of the 96 studies on tutoring. Questions remain as to the methods chosen by tutors and their professional backgrounds. However, hiring tutors, in many cases, might be the only viable solution for helping students cover their bases after two years of disrupted learning.
Growing Inequality
The worst thing about tutoring now is the exacerbated inequality. Tutoring can effectively address the learning crisis, but only for those who can afford it. Learning losses during two years of the pandemic can last a lifetime for students from vulnerable families. The education system is expected to come up with better ways of meeting the learning needs any time soon, or else the gap between the poor and the rich will grow like a weed.
Finally, gone are the days when parents struggled to help their children with remote learning while working online and providing 24/7 child care. However, one burden was replaced by another one. Financially, only a few can easily cough up around $3,000 a month on tutoring services since it’s a huge strain on the family budget these days. But many parents feel they have no other choice but to hire private tutors to at least give their children a chance at a better education.
John is a financial analyst but also a man of different interests. He enjoys writing about money and giving financial tips, but he can also dive into relationships, sports, gaming, and other topics. He lives in New York with his wife and a cat.
p.s. Related posts:
Helpful Books for Kids during COVID
Children’s Books on Mental Health Support During Stressful Times
I’m in the Boston Globe! Families share 4 lessons learned from pandemic parenting
How To Get Recruited to Play Sports in College During COVID-19
Beyond COVID: These Are The Issues to Prepare for This Holiday Season
Visiting Boston College during COVID Quarantine
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My books:
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
- Starred review from School Library Journal
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
