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March 24, 2020

Ivy League Schools are offering Free Online Courses: How COVID-19 is Reshaping the Future of Education.

 

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As our globe is under a unique and frightening crisis, there have been some lovely silver linings paired with it.

Humanity as we know it is experiencing a layer of unshakable fear. We are an awakened collective that is stepping up to the energetic war lines to help raise awareness of how we can navigate ourselves through this uncertain time in history.

We want the same things in this time of spiritual isolation, or solitary confinement labeled as quarantine. The metaphors are endless in this entire scenario, which can leave us in a state of shock, as if there is a deep meaning to all of this greater than we will ever understand.

As the stock market and economy crash harder than they have in history, the old systems and structures of society have also been crumbling. Now, with COVID-19 creating the need for an almost globally severe quarantine to preserve the health of humanity, we are beginning to see just how drastic capitalism is forming to this new way of life. Whether it’s temporary or not, this crisis is clearly showing us how important the basic needs of life have become in this time of shock and freeze.

Ivy League dream colleges like Harvard, Yale, Berkeley, and Columbia are now offering completely free online courses for the public to take in the comfort of their own homes. But why? The answer is simple: education should be free, or dramatically less expensive than it has been in the current system we have lived in. In order to help humanity thrive, education shouldn’t be based on your social status, financial status, family status, or even geographic location of living. The entire foundation we have been ingrained within is now dissolving into a new reality.

There are over 500 free online courses now being offered to anyone who would like to further their education. From philosophy to socialism, journalism, psychology to medical courses—the options are endless.

What COVID-19 has done is awaken us to what we truly deserve, which is free health care and free education. Schools and prestigious Ivy Leagues are trembling as the foundation of the education system is screaming for a revamp. Now that all schools are requiring online classes for potentially the remainder of the year, even the most desired and high-ranked schools are hopping on board to serve.

As society has felt a wave of unsettling news with the loss of jobs, uncertainty whether companies will continue to thrive, and a quite literal force to pause life, this opens up so many opportunities for those people who could only dream of attending a school like Yale or Harvard. I personally had Berkeley top on my list as a young scholar, but I knew it would create financial havoc on my lower, middle-class family who still struggles to make ends meet.

The silver lining in this is that everyone is in the same boat; our jobs prove to us that they are not a complete guarantee. These times have the potential to awaken humanity to how we are living our lives, invite us to sink within our solitude, and perhaps completely transform our lives by creating a new reality for ourselves.

Along with the despair of millions of people losing their main sources of income, comes the idea of universal income, which was first discussed by Andrew Yang (and was also supported by Bernie Sanders). As we step into the financial crisis created by COVID-19, all tenants, landlords, and businesses must understand the necessity for change and flexibility. Furthermore, a national tax break of up to $2,000 will undoubtedly need to occur to give Americans a chance to create a cushion of “comfort,” or some small financial relief.

This is proof that the paradigm we have been living in is changing rapidly. The capitalism that we have fallen victim to is crumbling. The economy has crashed harder than it ever has according to Sam Harris, Host of “The Making Sense podcast,” which is, in my opinion, one of the best forms of news or media to ingest at this time.

Yes, a huge percentage of the collective can be labeled as prisoners to credit card debt, medical debt, and more; however, millennials, in particular, have been suffering from unfathomable amounts of college debt, which has been an emotional and mental burden, to say the least.

The pressure to attain careers that override the amount of debt held has been almost impossible to attain, but pretty soon it’s not even going to matter. This physical quarantine we have been faced with as a globe could be the ultimate invitation to find a deeper meaning within the ideology of “losing a job.”

A permission slip to allow ourselves to accept the fact that our jobs were never promised nor guaranteed.

A universal allowance to view our lives from a perspective of how exactly we are living and honoring our time here on this planet.

This could be the shift we all have subconsciously been asking for and perhaps create a new wave of scholars who can help the world shift into a completely new reality of truth, freedom, and passion.

~

Relephant:
Elephant’s Continually-updating Coronavirus Diary. ~ Waylon
How to Enjoy Life Amidst the Coronavirus Fear: Your Go-To Guide from Books to Podcasts & Wellness Practices.
What the Coronavirus is Teaching Me: 5 Lessons from Uncertain Times.
The Artist’s Stay-at-Home & Stay Sane Guide.
10 Simple Ways to Boost your Immunity without Leaving the House.

~

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