What if your school is closed because of the Coronavirus?

Schools in Shanghai have been closed for over a month. They will be reopening via online classes, Reuters reports.

If your school were to shut down, what impact would that have on the education there?

I predict that things like Coronavirus (worldwide health concerns) are just going to become more and more common. If terrorists begin using biological weapons, just the threat of a disease, or a whisper would have devastating effects on our global economy, not to mention our education system around the globe.

The question is not really, are you ready to do school in the same way as you always have, just online?

The question is: "What do you provide to your students that they cannot live without if school is closed down?"

Could your education still happen if school were closed?

Kids would still learn, to be sure, but what would happen if your school were closed down.

When I talk about student-driven learning, I am talking about making it possible for our education system to advance without the daily habit of teachers preparing direct instruction for kids that are physically seated in front of them.

I'd say there's a pretty good chance of any school days missed due to an outbreak being cancelled, and not made up.

Furthermore, if you can do education virtually when there's an epidemic and it's "good enough", what's to stop families from opting out of Education more often?

We need to take good hard look at our systems, policies, and procedures as it relates to compulsory attendance, what that looks like, and what it means, and how to make policies around it that are meaningful and worthwhile.