Page 11 - Looking_after_school

Foreword to the English translation

In tempore suspecto

This book is a translation and limited reworking of a report which was
published in Dutch a few years ago. For many, the COVID-19 pandemic
heralds a radical break in thinking about education. If so, then this
book was written in tempore non suspecto, which might imply that the
book cannot stand the test of time since it does not account for all the
profound pandemic transformations which have taken place over the
past year. But it is probably too early to assess the impact in a precise
way, and to know whether the ‘new normal’ differs (or will differ) much
from the ‘old normal’. However, it is not too early to see that during
the health crisis, education, and in particular, schools, were the focus
of attention.
On the one hand, with the closure of schools in many countries, there
was a massive mobilisation of digital technology to enable distance
learning. Education became home delivery. Education entered the
family space through small or large screens, and, not infrequently,
in a pre-programmed, adaptive, and personalised learning environ-
ment. For some, the pandemic served as a catalyst for an evolution
which had been growing for some time and was now getting a serious
push. Some even claim that the pandemic should be welcomed to
finally update or outdate the school. But at the same time, there was
and is also doubt. It has become clear that families differ in terms of
the learning opportunities they provide. That efficient and effective
digital learning does not necessarily honour principles of equality.
That digital distance learning may allow students to choose where
and when to learn, but that this freedom of choice gets in the way
of another freedom - of attentive and sustained practice and study.
With the demise of school, we have, one could say, also rediscovered
school. We have become aware of how this inclination to make learn-
ing digital, which was already at work in pre-COVID times and has

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