Much of the world has been on lock down because of the highly contagious COVID-19, also known as the coronavirus. There are serious concerns what these shutdowns will do to our economy, particularly considering the fact that modern Americans tend not to have savings to delve into in the case of a crisis.

However, here I want to explore the potential impact that the coronavirus will have on education.

Schools everywhere have been shut down, colleges and K-12 alike. Students are staying home, and teachers are learning how to conduct classes online. Teachers are filming video lessons and posting readings and assignments, while students are watching video lessons, doing their assignments, and taking proctored tests.

And all of this is being done on a computer. Through the internet. From the comfort of home.

This is what online schools and homeschoolers have been doing for years. But now everyone is forced to do it, private schoolers and public schoolers alike.

In addition, at least one parent is having to stay home to watch younger children. And many of these parents are helping their children with their schoolwork, or even teaching their children themselves.

Parents everywhere are being forced to homeschool.

And you know what? Some of them are probably even liking it. Mothers are spending more time with their children. Children are studying at their own pace, and avoiding the distractions of other students.

All of this will leave some parents asking “Why can’t we do more of this all the time?”

Whether it is leaving the public schools and homeschooling full time, or advocating for a hybrid model of education (where students are only in class part time), the coronavirus lock down has the potential to change education forever.

Which is what I think the education establishment is worried about.

The State of Michigan just announced that it is closing all public schools for the year, though leaving it up to the districts as to whether they will provide online or print materials to students.

But I do not think the public schools really want to get behind online education, and for that reason there will not be any state enforcement. For online education may entice some parents to leave the public schools, or it may just open their eyes to how unnecessary most of the administration is.

And if parents start to leave the public schools—or even if schools just scale down operations—that is a huge hit to the bloated and overpaid public school administration, as well as the teachers unions. (This is also true for the bloated university administration.)

The administration and teachers unions all thrive on making it look like their current system is needed. They thus seek to eliminate competition, and online education certainly is competition.

Maybe, just maybe, this will wake parents up to the alternatives out there.

We do not know what the future will bring. But there may be a silver lining in all of this when it comes to education.

*For those looking for resources for homeschooling and online education, you’ve come to the right place. I recommend starting with the “Homeschool Resources” tab at the top, as well as the following two articles:

I Want to Homeschool—But Where Do I Start?

Online Videos and the Future of Education

Logos Press also has two free weeks of homeschool material you can try for grades 1–8.

Homeschooling Articles