THIS is the time of the year when students and their parents would start their introspection and exploration on what degree program to enroll in college. And since the establishment of the Senior High School program in 2016, the task has doubled because a choice among the different tracks or strands would also be imperative for anyone who would move on to a higher academic progression from Junior High School.
It is “unfortunate” that the pandemic has made things all the more complicated and challenging in the face of an unstable market. Elements that are both intrinsic and extrinsic to the market have led to an increase in demand for certain jobs and a decrease in some. I doubt, for example, if Tourism and Hospitality are highly demanded these days. The same is true with Engineering and other related professions. The Humanities and Social Sciences still need to justify their existence, while the healthcare professions are more in demand but are, needless to say, at one’s “risk to take.”
The International Labour Organization has reported that “the devastating losses in working hours caused by the Covid-19 pandemic have brought a ‘massive’ drop in labor income for workers around the world.” In the world of Free Market, business and industry owners are free to expand their options as well as their opportunities, however, this goes with the equal right to close or limit them depending on profit. The State can only do so much in terms of regulation where its police power may be exercised. At the end of the day, and unless the State becomes socialist, workers must defer to the dictates of the market.
So, what are we still “schooling” for? Well, the answer of an idealistic philosopher will have to speak in terms of “learning, formation, and transformation.” This is an answer that is both valid and acceptable. However, it would also be intellectually dishonest not to answer the question directly from a practical point of view. Seriously, what are we still schooling for? If the future is uncertain and we don’t even know in clearer terms the trend of the market, why do we continue doing things the way we did them in the pre-pandemic situation?
We are not suggesting that students should stop schooling. However, it is important for schools to enter more deeply into the core of their “existential consciousness.” This means that schools should start rethinking the way they do things and ask further whether the things they are doing now are at the very least equipping students for a future that is volatile and complex.
Writing for LinkedIn, Blake Barnes says that despite the pandemic, some jobs are “on the rise” but it is important for students and workers to have the right skills that would allow them to land the right job opportunities. Within the context of this discussion, it is imperative for schools to review their offerings not just in terms of “content” but also “skills.” Training in schools should also “push” students to optimize their speed and accomplish time-bound tasks. For example, students by now should realize that responding to an email is not an option.
It is not enough for schools to continue their enterprise as if nothing serious is going on in society. That is why I find it ridiculous whenever the Education sector becomes so preoccupied with so many “useless” webinars that discuss matters that are practically outmoded by the pandemic. It is high time for schools to pay much closer attention to what is going on in and with society. It is high time for schools to learn from society, after all, education always evolves within the matrix of society and not the other way around.