Coffee with Chuck

With many colleges and universities starting up this week there is a dark cloud of I think what many would call fear hovering of America. Colleges and universities all across the country are taking various approaches to educate their students this fall. Some schools are doing complete remote learning and having their students taking classes from their homes. While, other schools are using a hybrid model, meaning having remote courses but offering the opportunity for students to come campus if they absolutely need to. And, then there are the schools that are ambitious and having in-person instruction inviting students back to campus. Now, this is obviously a horrible decision. This is not a claim with no data the numbers speak for themselves. Last week both the University of North Carolina and the University of Notre Dame had to suspend in-person instruction after having a large number of students test positive for Covid-19.    

Now, what do colleges and universities expect bringing students back to campus? You are not going to stop students from getting together. These kids have been locked in their houses since the beginning of March they have lacked social experiences and interactions. Obviously they are going together and play beer dye. And, now Covid-19 is looking at college campuses like

Colleges and universities that are opening in person are not making this decision because they feel like it is safe to have students on campus or students need to have in-person instruction. These colleges and universities are making this vital decision from a pure financial state of mind. These institutions have recognized if they do not have students living in dorms, paying for meal plans, and paying for various campus resources that they will financially cease to exist in the future. Also, they see the potential impact of not having kids on campus will have on their local economies.  It is evident that this is purely a financial decision. However, you can’t blame colleges and universities for thinking like this because they are part of a system that has commodified education and turned schools into businesses. Education fails when it becomes about profits, and America fails when it becomes about profits and not about people.  

#Education #School #HigherEd