British schools have now followed the path of their counterparts in the EU by shutting down. There is no more school until who know’s when, the latest chapter in the grim story of an economy rapidly grinding to a standstill. In the dark hours of the night I find myself wondering if the economic fall-out from this will do more damage to lives than this disease itself, if far greater harm comes from the alarm.
Many, especially small businesses and easy-to-sacrifice freelancers, will be asking themselves how on earth they are going to get through the next few months. No income coming in, rent and other outgoings to pay, the value of any investments decimated. How long are we going to be locked down for? Anything less than three months will seem like a win at this stage.
It might not feel like the right time and place to be offering silver linings to these economic thunder clouds, but I get the feeling that this crisis is going to lead to huge — and welcome — changes in the way we do things. When Covid-19 has passed, the world may well be a very different place.
Remote working — already on the rise pre-coronavirus — is going to surge. So will remote healthcare, and believe it or not such a thing already exists in the form of apps such as Babylon. Similarly, as schools shut down, we are going to see a rise in remote education and home schooling.
My hunch is that in all three cases people are going to discover that they’re actually pretty good, and by the time the crisis has passed, remote work, healthcare and education will be a much more established part of our lives. This disease is going to change the way we operate.
I’m an advocate of all remoting, if such a word exists. I’ve been a freelancer and worked from home all my life. I like the freedom and the flexibility. I don’t like commuting or office politics. I’m relatively new to the remote healthcare game but I now conduct as much of my family’s healthcare as possible this way; I had a consultation with a GP just the other day on the NHS via Babylon.
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SubscribeBabylon home health care sounds like a good idea, until you look at the cost. At £150 per year or £50 per consultation, I think I’ll stick with my ‘free’ real doctor’s consultation thanks.
I think the point is that the NHS could do the same, for free. In many cases, a physical examination is not needed or the doctor could see the relevant part of the body via video. Nobody is saying make all GP consultations online, and a lot of specialist ones too. But the current balance is far too skewed towards physical meetings.
You appear to have one motivated teen taking “A’ level.
And the money to afford a tutor for each subject.
Not all parents are in that situation.
A friend of mine has a very active 7 year old. She is quite bright, but he has been worried about her progress at school. He told me last week that he had noticed real improvements since she had been learning at home. I asked, sarcastically, if he was officially a better teacher than the professionals. He said that her progress was probably due to the lack of distraction from other children, so she was able to focus on what she was supposed to be learning. This strikes me as eminently likely. Of course, schools can be set up so that such distractions are stopped at source, but that’s not actually how most of them seem to be run.
Totally agree.
After taking 2 degrees and an MSc at university I can compare my experience then with the OU Mandarin I am taking now.
Its a VERY tough course, but the quality of tutorials and feedback on test papers is exemplary. And you can work in your own time and pace.
Dominic, Thank you for such an interesting and informative piece, it will interest many parents facing similar quandaries. Sad to say, not all will be able to follow your route, but that is one of life’s difficulties. Yet most of us truly want to do the best we can for our dear children, isn’t that so ?
Home schooling has been the successful answer for large numbers in the US, including some parents who object to state interference in the way they bring up children, just as if their children belonged to the state. Norway is especially bad in this respect.
Look hard and you will discover many objections and difficulties, but these are, IMO, outweighed by the manifest advantages, not only in the educational results, but in the general sense of freedom from peer groups, an ever-present danger in so many schools, plus – an enormous reduction in the chances of getting snared by drug usage. This alone, I believe, is worth the ceaseless challenges, (the rows ?…) the worries, the incessant demands on the mother and or father, just in ordinary times, never mind right now.
I have dear friends, upright, public-spirited and successful professional people, whose children have, nearly all, fallen by the wayside, down to peer group pressures and of course, drugs. The whole family is shattered, in some cases, the future is dark indeed. Nothing whatever is worth that.
The very best of good fortune to you and yours.
Yes I don’t understand the point of 100s or possibly 1000s of “universities” in English speaking countries giving an essentially identical lecture on glycolysis. We only really need one.