It has been almost a year and a half since COVID-19 wrecked the globe. This is a dark time in human history. It is a time when we've all had to put our most ambitious goals aside, to slow down, to reconnect with old hobbies and passions, and to get in touch with ourselves on a much deeper level. Schools shut down, hospitals reached full capacity, the stock market and economies all around the world collapsed, businesses went bankrupt, and entire industries collapsed. Despite all this, there is beauty behind the madness. We rarely ever talk about the good behind everything that has transpired during the last year and a half. Have you ever wondered how life would play out after quarantine?
The truth is that many students in the United States are returning to school. Some remain virtual while many return to in person classes and others take hybrid courses with blended instruction modes. Education hasn't collapsed. Education is resilient. It has proven to be resilient and adaptable throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and despite many other industries collapsing amid the global crisis, education stands strong. Systems aren't falling; systems are transforming.
There is no doubt that artificial intelligence, blended modalities, and augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) glasses will transform the future of online and in person learning in many first world countries like the United States. However, despite being incredibly resilient to change, the American educational system still lacks a solid business model.
In the nineteenth century, George Washington said that only a rich white man should have access to quality education, and so the process of segregation in America began. The system was founded on social status, and anyone who was of darker skin tone, lower financial status, or physically or mentally disabled was left out of the system. Black and brown children were educated in segregated neighborhoods while white children were educated in advantaged neighborhoods.
Fast forward to the twenty first century. Schools are desegregated; however, the quality of education in disadvantaged and underprivileged communities is lacking due to funding disparities created by twentieth century housing segregation policies like redlining. Students in underprivileged neighborhoods pay lower property taxes, have access to low-quality tutors and underpaid teachers, and their technology is outdated. On the other hand, students in wealthier neighborhoods pay higher property taxes, have access to high quality tutors and well-paid teachers, and better technology. The rich have access to better education.
Let's talk about education in developing countries. In various developing countries across the world, students were adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, and some of them are still learning remotely from home despite the worldwide distribution of Pfizer and Moderna vaccines. How can we create a world in which language education is universally accessible?
We've created an online platform called World Linguistics TV on which anyone can come and learn languages! Current offerings include Spanish and French; however, more languages are coming soon. The best part about all of it is that it's all accessible to anyone who wishes to partake in it. The road to multilingualism starts here!