Despite being well into the 21st century, schooling is still stuck in the 1900s, demanding consistency and conformity. Learning is driven by bells and timetables. School systems want learners to do the same thing, at the same time, in the same way.
If we’re to shift these issues in a child’s school career by 2040, we must transform the schooling system to adapt to the needs of learners and teachers.
- Do Australian children have to spend so many hours at school?
- Do teachers have to spend so many hours face-to-face teaching?
- Does school have to be five days a week?
- Can students have an opt-in day, so they only have to attend school for four days a week?
Check out my case for change for a four-day school week as part of Education 2040: the near future of schools series.
Alice Leung 
Dear Alice, thank you for sharing these thoughts. I would be interested to hear from you if there is some sort of advocacy group with influence or potential to be influential so this can be discussed at the relevant levels. I, too, see the need for radical change ( I am mostly teaching virtually), system-wide. Let me know if you have some leads or would be keen to start something! Regards, Inga
Hi Inga. Thanks for your comment. I am currently unaware of any group campaigning for a 4-day school week. However, it’s a change that’s worth pursuing at the systems level. Many schools managed to have a 4-day week during the remote learning.