40 Predictions on the Future of Education

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The following are predictions I think could come true or that I would like to see come true. They are random thoughts and are in no particular order. They involve students, teachers, parents, schools, and education in general. I am in favor of some and not in favor of others. Some are good, some aren’t. Some will never happen. Some may already be taking place.

1. Teachers will earn higher salaries. They will have to. No one will enter the profession for the low pay rate currently offered. If highly qualified teachers are wanted, school districts will have to pay for them.
2. Administrators will have to take cuts in pay in order to provide salaries for highly qualified teachers.
3. Schools will accept corporate sponsorship in order to get needed supplies, equipment, textbooks, technology, and other items.
4. Teachers will learn how to use all the technology that their students have used for the last ten years. And they will include it in their lesson plans.
5. By 2014, all students will be proficient (that’s the law).
6. By 2014, many schools will have had their teaching staffs replaced because they have not met their achievement goals.
7. By 2014, many public schools will become charter schools as result of No Child Left Behind.
8. Teachers will be required to take performing arts courses in college. This will include public speaking, singing, playing a musical instrument, drama, and dance. A teacher with these abilities will be much more entertaining to the children.
9. Students now attend school about 7 hours a day for 5 days a week. This will eventually become 9 hours a day for 4 days a week. It will save school districts money for heating and cooling costs, electricity, and some salaries.
10. Students now attend school about 180 days a year. This will increase to 200 days a year, thereby negating any savings earned from the 4-day week.
11. More and more classes will be taught online. Eventually, they may all be taught that way.
12. Every student will have an IEP (Individual Education Plan). Only students in special education have had these, but parents of other children will demand that their children have one, also.
13. Health and physical education classes will be required in every school every day as part of future health care reform bills.
14. There will be holographic teachers.
15. Students will rediscover flash cards and actually memorize their multiplication facts. (Hopefully, they’re doing this now.)
16. Students will choose their future careers in elementary school. All courses they take from then on will be geared toward that career.
17. Students who don’t succeed in school will be given apprenticeships. This is actually an old idea becoming new again.
18. High school students who are sick and miss school will not work in the local grocery that evening where they can be seen by their teachers.
19. It will be cool to be smart. Smart kids will replace “jocks” in popularity.
20. There will be robotic teachers.
21. Children will rediscover physical activity. So will their teachers and parents.
22. Every student will have a laptop they carry from class to class. Assignments and notes will automatically be downloaded via wireless internet.
23. There will be a drinking fountain and bathroom in every classroom.
24. All teachers will be filmed during classroom instruction. The videos will then be placed on SchoolTube for students who missed class or for those who need to hear the material again.
25. A pneumatic tube system will be installed that links all classrooms with the office. It will be used for sending and receiving physical objects. This will minimize hall traffic and keep schools safer.
26. Teachers will actually be given time to collaborate with each other and with teachers from other school districts during in-services.
27. There will be a GPS locater on every student. It will be used to find missing children or those who wander off campus. If a student pulls a fire alarm or writes a bomb threat on the bathroom wall, GPS can be used to trace students’ movements to see who was there. (Big Brother is watching.)
28. School clinics will be downsized. Each child’s vital functions will be monitored electronically and that information will be fed into a national database. As soon as there is a problem, an alarm will sound and give the child and teacher a complete list of instructions as to what actions they should take.
29. No parent will do their child’s homework. All parents will understand that the child must do his or her own work to be successful.
30. Medical causes of most learning disabilities will be discovered. Children will be treated medically and cured.
31. Parents will supervise what their children wear to school and not allow them to wear anything inappropriate.
32. Schools cannot be segregated by race or gender. They may, however, eventually be segregated by political party.
33. No child will be bullied. All children will understand how damaging this is.
34. Every child will start school with all the supplies they need, the time they need, the sleep they need, the nutrition they need, and the desire to do well.
35. Every child will start kindergarten ready to learn.
36. Every parent will provide an atmosphere at home where the child is loved, supported, and nurtured so there is no need for gangs, drugs, violence, or other self-destructive behaviors.
37. Every teacher will have a secretary to schedule appointments, answer emails, make phone calls, and file.
38. Every teacher will have an assistant to check papers.
39. As university costs soar, more and more college courses will be offered in high school. Many students will graduate from high school with one or two years of college under their belts.
40. Nano-computers with wireless internet access will be inserted into each human’s brain and will be linked to the brain’s neurons so that humans can access any information they want. There will be no need for teachers, schools, or education. Children will be able to access information with just a thought and it will be fed to their eyes and ears and stored in their memory centers. Information will be restricted so as to be age-appropriate. (Science and technology already have humans operating machines with their minds. http://technologyreview.com/biomedicine/20832/)