Opinion: Could the Pandemic Break the Monopoly of Public Schools in NJ?

Many of us have been saying for years that we're using a 19th century model for education that sorely needs updating, streamlining, and needs to be brought up to the standards of modern times.

Industries and businesses have adapted to the digital age. They had to do it to be competitive and survive. But public school hasn't. Is it tradition, or that they're a function of government and don't need to be competitive or even effective to survive? Or is it the unions that keep them mired in mediocrity for the sake of keeping the money coming in? Well we may be forced to find alternative ways to educate the kids without them, because both the NJEA and the legislature are reluctant to reopen schools in September. To many parents, this is a great disappointment.

For society and New Jersey taxpayers, this may be the dawn of a new era. Finally, we will be forced to drag the public education system into the 21st century and use technology and personal parental responsibility for better educate our kids. The traditional public school model doesn't fit today's societal needs or the kids we cram into yellow cans and ship off to cinderblock bunkers with armed police hoping to avoid the next mass shooting.

Its time has long since passed and maybe this is the impetus we need to finally evolve. Some parents are pooling their resources and hiring tutors to teach kids in small "pods" of students.

Don't expect any rebate on your property taxes any time soon. Not in this state, but maybe, just maybe New Jersey public education will be dragged into the modern era by a pandemic and maybe the idea of "reimagining" education can spread faster than the virus.