The dictionary definition of normal is “the usual or typical state or condition.” For the most part, this “usual and typical” also changes. For example, what is regular human physical activity changes with age. In the business world, there is what they call normal or standard change that come in the management process – “A change that is not an emergency change.”[1]
The move to the “new normal” in 2020 was not a normal change. It was born out of a global health crisis. It was a response to the sudden changes that painted a new scenario of how things work. Education completely went on a detour – a deviation from the usual way of its delivery.
Online. Virtual. Remote.
These modes were adopted by schools to assure their clients that “education will go on.” The suspension of face-to-face classes prevented the possibility of blended classes. Why? Because blended learning, also called hybrid learning, is “a method of teaching that integrates technology and digital media with traditional instructor-led classroom activities, giving students more flexibility to customize their learning experiences.”[1] Therefore, our own Remote Learning Center Education is not blended. It is online and modular combined. Others may have referred to their synchronous and asynchronous classes as blended, like a “flipped” classroom, but as long as both are done online, that is not blended. In-person learning must be included.
With the prospect of returning to our physical facilities, we can now go blended or fully face-to-face. So, the question is, “are we really going back to normal?”
Things have changed and, I guess, we may not all be going back to the normal we used to know. Policies have changed. Attitudes have changed. Perceptions have changed. The normal we used to know will never return. And the new normal we referred to these past two school years will soon be old and another one will arise.
So, how do we transition to the next normal? By transitioning back to “our normal.” Before I confuse you with contradicting myself, let me present this statement:
“How learning happens is the same. It’s the delivery mode that changed.”
First, this means that , for us, the laws of learning have remained the same. We stayed true to the Five Laws of Learning:
- Students must be at levels where they can perform.
- Reasonable goals must be set.
- Students must be controlled and motivated.
- Learning must be measurable.
- Learning must be rewarded.
Second, we transitioned to the online mode because of the pandemic. That is not normal for us. Now it’s about time we go back to our REAL normal. We simply bring back the setting – from the delivery mode – to the actual Learning Center face-to-face classes. And this is the most ideal setting for our schools in the ACE School of Tomorrow System.
This transition is a battle.
Education is still “the communication of life from the living to the living.” While there is a place for online learning, and some may need to keep it in part, nothing beats the actual heart exchange that takes place in the face-to-face setting. We may continue to encounter hurdles ahead but we must be vigilant in waging spiritual war against the forces of darkness that want our children and teenagers out of schools.
Transitioning back to our normal is more than just about delivery modes. It is more than just about health policies. It is more than just about protocols. This is a spiritual battle we need to fight on our knees.
[1] Steve Watts and Muhammad Raza, “Changes Types: Standard vs Normal vs Emergency Change,” BMC Blogs, October 30, 2019, https://www.bmc.com/blogs/changes-types-standard-vs-normal-vs-emergency-change/#:~:text=ITIL%20defines%20Normal%20Change%20as,according%20to%20a%20standardized%20process., accessed March 15, 2022
[1] “What Is Blended
Learning,” Panopto, August 16, 2019, https://www.panopto.com/blog/what-is-blended-learning/, accessed March
15, 2022