World 2

Welcome to Year 2070 (Sofiya)

Fast Forward to Year 2070

It is the year 2070 and the COVID pandemic that existed over 50 years ago has now come to an end. The world, however has now come in contact with a new virus, Ilera which has caused the world to come to a halt once again. Outbreaks can be seen across the globe and transmission has been discovered to be airborne. Common symptoms include trouble breathing, high fever and a rash on the side of one’s neck. A lot has changed over the past decades and residents have been ordered to stay in full lockdown as hospital beds start to fill up, straining the American health care system. Students are to virtually attend class via hologram from the comfort of their home which has proven to surpass the budget of the school boards. Though many despise the government for putting a stop to in person learning, scientists and researchers claim that the world could come to an end if action is not taken. The virus is growly rapidly each day and the future is unknown. Education is now in question which has caused people to wonder – is it really worth it? When will everything truly come back to normal?

The Education System, 50 Years Ago

As one goes back 50 years ago, it makes it hard to believe that there once existed in person classes where students would gather together in their classrooms to obtain the ideal learning experience. At this time, the pandemic would seem to be one of the least probable events to occur in America. Often times, teachers would be seen connecting with students and adapting their teaching styles to fit the needs of each of these students. The classroom would be a second family where students would come together to have in class discussions and complete tasks with the help of their peers. There would be a strong sense of community in these schools which would allow students to call it their second home. Evaluations would be monitored by several supervisors as students wrote side by side and on parent-teacher interview night, liveliness would fill the school corridors. The libraries would be filled with students trying to finish their last-minute papers and paper planes would be seen flying across the room in after school Math help programs. Who would have thought that 50 years from now, all that would come to an end?

The Education System, Present Day

At present day, the following changes have been made to the schooling system: All in person classes are to come to an end and students are to attend classes virtually via holograms. All after school activities have been paused until further notice. Parent teachers interviews are to take place via ZOOM from the comfort of one’s home. No staff is permitted to be on school premise for any means. Students are to submit all assignments and evaluations online for marking. An automatic grading system will then release the grading right away. At the end of the term, an automatic report card based on this grading system will be released.

Compared to 50 years ago, life has changed. Another fun fact. President Donald Trump has now been re-elected and the economy is now crashing. This may be calling for another recession. Many are out of jobs, struggling to pay the bills and the education system is the least of anyone’s priority. Survival is now key. As the country goes in Code Red Lockdown, citizens are seen rushing to grocery stores to stock up on daily essentials and toilet paper. What is to come of the education system now? That is not yet to be known.

Environment (Iqra)

Results of Global Warming

There has been an active attempt to reform the environment, however, it has been nearly impossible to restore the earth back to a safe living space for all beings. Unfortunately, the results of global warming has been detrimental to all life on earth, as it has disrupted nature and the ozone layer. There has been mass extinction of thousands of species, including white rhinos, elephants, a large number of sea creatures and unexpectedly, squirrels. This extinction has caused chain reactions throughout the eco-system, which in effect, has impacted several aspects of human life.

When examining the climate, there has been extreme change within the last 50 years, as the world has had a drastic increase in temperature to the point where snow is non-existent, as not even the coldest countries experience it, with the lowest global average for the temperature is 10 degrees Celsius. Evidently, this has led to issues of melting ice-caps and glaciers., and therefore, an increase in the rise of water levels, which has had a harmful impact; people living near bodies of water were forced to move due to the rise of sea-levels, and the integrity of a majority of living spaces and habitats have been destroyed.

Historical Warnings

Consistently, there have been warnings of the detrimental impacts that global warming will have on the environment, which can be seen especially seen during the years of 2010-2020. During this time period, it was emphasized that there would be a small time frame to take action, before irreversible damage would occur; if action was not taken within the next 11 years, the impacts would be horrendous (Only 11 Years). Evidently, these issues were not taken seriously whatsoever, as although there were attempts, it was not enough, as those in power placed priorities in creating wealth, rather than maintaining the environment.

The Role of the Government

Historically, the government, although creating agreements, has not done all that they could. At one point, in 2020, the U.S. government officially withdrew from the Paris Agreement, and they were the first country to do so. This was frowned upon globally, as the US omits 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions (McGrath, 2020). With the re-election of Donald Trump, this put the environment of the world in a negative trajectory.

Currently, the government is attempting to re-do the effects of global warming, however, it is proving extremely difficult to do so. There is a limit for each country in terms of the emissions that they contribute to, and although there have been attempts to repair, it is arguable that the world is too far gone. Additionally, fossil fuel cars have been banned globally in attempt to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases, there has been the creation of flying cars, which run on electricity Although they are not perfect, they are better for the environment compared to the traditional cars.

Status and Living Space

The environment indelibly has been connected and correlated with status, as cities and people who reside within them are considered to be lower class, due to the poor environmental status. Within cities, it is considered to be more affordable to live, however, the environment is considered to be at the lowest point, which can be seen especially in Toronto. The air quality has scientifically been proven to be extremely harmful, and the food is not eco-friendly or healthy, however, it is cheaper.

A very limited amount of people are able to live within healthier spaces, which are often correlated with wealth, as only the rich can afford the luxury of clean air. These spaces are in the country side or the suburbs, where the water and food are drastically healthier. The environment has encouraged a further disparity between the rich and poor, by creating a separation of living space and quality of life.

Technology (Ashley)

In the year 2070, things have changed vastly. Due to the pandemic, lockdown procedures have forced advancements in innovative technologies in order to keep life as normal as possible. From holographic projections to flying cars, society has had to find new ways for communicating and transporting in order to keep society from collapsing completely.

Holograms

Flying Electric Cars

Education Christine

Learning Style Streaming

Due to the continuation of the pandemic, online education has become the new norm. There was a complete systemic reform for education meant to optimize online classrooms. In order to improve education quality, students are assessed and separated based on their learning styles and learning skills. Students who are like minded and shared similar abilities are placed in the same class. An influx demand of new teachers are trained to teach based on learning styles and skills. Class sizes are been decreased to 15 to accommodate the difficulties of online learning.

Pros

This new reform has optimized the efficiency quality of learning. By placing like minded students together, they are able to work better together. Additionally, similar students also chose similar streams. Teachers are trained more efficiently to cover specific stream subjects and demands. Students overall showed an increase in school performance across all standardized testing.

Cons

There was a lost sense of community as students continued their education with the same few peers in their classrooms. This form of education has become another form of segregation, where some streams are regarded as better than others. Depending on the stream a student was placed in at the beginning of their education, employers showed favoritism over streams rather than personal achievements.

Technology Assisted Learning

Online learning has opened up many opportunities for technological improvements. Students have the option of part-taking through holograms if their families are able to provide this expensive resource. Holograms allow students to learn from a variety of teachers they may not have access to otherwise. One example is the the addition to the aboriginal ways of learning. Holograms have allowed students to learn direct from Elders who are otherwise unable to travel to physical classrooms. Holograms are also much more interactive when compared to traditional video calls.

Students are also able to part-take in team sports and other physical group activities if parents are able to afford Virtual Reality systems. Students are able to interact with new peers through virtual curricular and extra-curricular sports. Virtual reality devices are able to achieve more realistic interactions as well as more interactive learning. These devices are more affordable for parents and are also more interactive than traditional video calls.

New technologies are aiming to make classrooms more equitable. Students with specific learning needs may be supplied with specific devices to improve their learning. For, example, ELL students may purchase an earpiece for real-time translation. Online classroom programs such as Zoom and Teams also provide real-time translation as well as visual aid and closed captions.

Socioeconomic Disparity Laura

Wealth Impact

With great socioeconomic change follows financial burdens faced by mass populations. Although marginal gaps have been present for vast periods throughout society, the disparity between the poor and rich has marginally increased. The idea of shopping ‘essentially’ and doing so online has left many grappling with costs that as a result have closed local businesses and devastated people’s finances. Emergency savings funds are depleted as living is paycheque to paycheque for the large portion affected. As implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic was a support system designed to provide Canadians with financial aid. These disbursements known as the Canadian Emergency Response Benefit have been significantly reduced during the Ilera pandemic as the rise of said viruses are not anticipated to occur more than once every century. While technological advancements have prevailed and proven to enhance coping mechanisms, counteractively, these resources are not always accessible to widespread groups as they are costly. Hence, this society must cope with achieving a sense of adaption to new norms, while finances burden such capacities.

Geographic Impact

Geographically, the impacts of this pandemic have also extended into the realms of our environment. As seen during the COVID-19 outbreak, pollution emissions were at a low as China saw 200 million fewer metric tons of carbon dioxide when compared to the same time period in 2019 (Mongeon, 2020). However, flashing forward to present day, this is no longer the case. Again, there is a sense of disparity amongst the higher and lower classes. With the introduction of flying cars, this provided the wealthy with quicker means of transportation. This mode of travel is also more costly than the once conventional means. As production and sales of flying cars increased, there was also a surplus in the amount of regular cars being bought and driven. Regular cars have become significantly more affordable and accessible to all. Hence, the areas of greater poverty tend to reveal higher pollution emissions as many choose normal vehicles for means of transportation. All the while, those in economically superior areas are not nearly as impacted by emissions within the environment. Unfortunately, the nation has seen a great divide due to economic barriers that separate abilities to choose more sustainable options.

Education Impact

Lastly, there are also disparities present throughout the existing schooling systems. While improvements such as holograms have been introduced so that both students and teachers can interact safely, this is not available for all learners. Such intricate tools are expensive and hence, not a feasible option for many. Those who are granted access to these devices are provided with substantially better means to excel; since they provide utmost engaging learning experiences. During such trying times, it is difficult to ensure that equity is omnipresent, however as educators, it is truly necessary to try. As it can be difficult for educators to bridge these gaps entirely, there are many efforts in order to involve governments in this funding. Students should approach situations that are rooted in equitable practice in order to avoid the potential for performance gaps caused by an uncontrollable factor, that is, economic status. In essence, one’s educational success is deeply influenced by one’s social class and must be addressed in order to promote prosperity during such trying times.

Members

Ashley
Christine
Iqra
Laura
Sofiya

Resources

McGrath, M. (2020). Climate change: US formally withdraws from Paris agreement. BCC News, retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54797743

Only 11 Years Left to Prevent Irreversible Damage from Climate Change, Speakers Warn during General Assembly High-Level Meeting. (2019). United Nations, retrieved from https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/ga12131.doc.htm