I feel like we are in the dog days of summer. I was waiting for an inflection point. I thought when the NBA took the court, we would see a surge in excitement and enthusiasm. But ratings are down. I thought MLB would take the field and inspire some positive energy, but it appears the World Series (if we even get there) might be won by the team who has the least COVID contagion among their players. Back-to-school even looks like a mixed bag with local decisions prevailing between classroom, online and hybrid.
The stimulus delayed the inevitable contraction, but, I sense a walk-in-place, waiting for some break. Even a vaccine, emerging from clinical trials may not spell a demarcation toward certainty.
We all wait for something to happen. Panic reaction is over. Measured response is slowly working. We identified things we could control and focused our attention there. But, what to do next?
What will be your strategy? What will you base your strategy on? How wide is your range of what-ifs? If your what-ifs turn out to be wrong, how agile is your ability to pivot? When circumstances shift, how quickly do you recognize the move?
I know things in front of your face have your attention. But, what of the long game?
It is time to completely rethink our response. The time for “wait and see” is over. For instance: Our schools should consider a year-round schedule with students divided into 3 groups. Each group would attend for 15 weeks with a week break between each session. This would provide the social distancing in the classroom without spending money on more building space. We would have to increase pay for teachers, which we should anyway. Students would do one session in the classroom followed by one session online and then a break for the third session – each rotating through the year. It is time to think differently about everything we are doing. Work included. Many people can’t work until we figure out the school issue.
Thank you, Tom, for your blog.