eSchoolNews: 4 Education Predictions for 2022
Carmelo Piazza, Executive Director/Educational Director of the Brooklyn Preschool of Science and a KIBO Ambassador, shares 4 ways he predicts education changing for the better in 2022.
The article reads in part:
1) COVID won’t cause any more school closures. Looking forward to the new year, I’m foreseeing no more school closures due to COVID. That’s not really an educational prediction—it’s more about consistency, which kids really need to learn.
2) Kids will be happier. I’ve seen proof of this at my preschools this year. I’ve never seen so many kids so happy to come back to school. They missed socialization and the social-emotional connection with other children. I’m foreseeing a lot more happiness for these kids, many of whom were COVID babies isolated from other children. And now the opposite is happening. Things are opening up and they’re feeding off each other’s energy.
3) Schools will incorporate more screen-free technology. I’m always adding more layers of technology to my schools, but I have to take into account that a lot of families, rightfully, want to limit their kids’ screen time, especially in reaction to the screen-based lessons that schools relied on during the closures caused by COVID. In my schools I use screen-free tech tools like the KIBO robot, which incorporates the coding skills that kids need to acquire in a fun way and with zero screen time. I predict that schools all over the country will be looking for the same sort of screen-free technology next year and into the future.
4) Universal pre-K will require more space and creativity. As federal funding for universal pre-K (UPK) moves closer to being a reality, I have somewhat mixed feelings. I think the initiative is beautiful. We should absolutely be teaching all our kids to love learning. UPK has been a reality in New York for a few years now, so I can make predictions for the possible national roll-out based on experience. In New York, assigning pre-K classrooms in existing public schools has created some space issues and led to larger class sizes in other early grades.
In fact, if I could make one New Year’s resolution for education in 2022, it would be to incorporate inspiring thematic units of study to create love of learning through all grades—though predominantly K–5, which becomes the catalyst of success in middle and high school.
Read the full article.
