By CHARLES SOSNIK
These days we speak in extremes: when online shopping replaces trips to stores, people call it a “Retail Apocalypse.” In truth, consumers are simply choosing different ways to shop. Technology didn’t kill brick-and-mortar retail—it improved it. For purchases that benefit from trying on or inspecting items, like clothing and furniture, physical stores will remain important. For routine, predictable purchases, home delivery is often more efficient and convenient.
The same pattern appears across many industries. Look at transportation: how often do you hail a taxi now that ride-hailing apps can dispatch a car within minutes? We can lament the decline of traditional taxi services, or recognize that personal transportation has become far cheaper and more convenient.
Technology tends to increase efficiency. My background is in newspapers, and I remember how earlier waves of automation reduced labor needs, first with typesetting and later with the internet. It became impractical to cut down trees, make paper, print thousands of newspapers and distribute them when people could instantly access the same information on their phones.
These shifts are not apocalypses; they are evolutions in how we access goods, services, and information. We still need stores, transportation, and news—just delivered in new and often better ways.
Growing Pains
So what about education? Technology now gives families unprecedented choice in how children learn. Will this spell the end of traditional schooling, or will it result in a more flexible, learner-centered system? Many educators and policymakers agree that change is inevitable, and the transition is producing significant growing pains.
At least a quarter of school-aged children in the U.S. are now outside strictly traditional public schools, whether through homeschooling, charter schools, online courses, or hybrid models. That shift has sparked alarm among some school and union leaders who see the public education model under stress. It has also created urgency—and opportunity—for innovation in how education is delivered.
To get an insider perspective, I spoke with LeiLani Cauthen, CEO of the Learning Counsel, who is helping guide schools through the digital transition. She notes that the shift to digital learning is straining administrators and teachers in different ways. School leaders must find and allocate substantial capital for devices, infrastructure, and digital content while being held accountable for student outcomes. Teachers report skyrocketing workloads and burnout: surveys show many educators feel their workload is unmanageable and negatively affects their health.
The Forest for the Trees
These realities can make technology look like the problem. Has education adopted too much too quickly? Should schools retreat to the simpler classrooms of the past? In the modern world, returning to 1950s-style schooling is neither realistic nor desirable.
Cauthen argues the issue is not excess technology, but a lack of the right kind of technology and systems. Most schools have introduced devices and digital content without reorganizing learning around the individual student. What’s missing is a scalable, learner-centered digital alternative that covers every subject, integrates high-quality content, and offers personalized learning pathways supported by intelligent tools and on-demand educators.
Properly implemented, digital education would do more than digitize textbooks. It would create adaptive learning pathways that build from a child’s foundation, leveraging artificial intelligence, interactive media, and a user experience as intuitive and engaging as popular online platforms. That approach would break from the traditional institutional model and put the learner at the center.
But that shift threatens the existing structure. Implementing truly learner-centric digital systems means letting go of control—control over budgets, classroom routines, curriculum design, and a long-standing institutional monopoly on public schooling funded by local, state, and federal tax dollars.
The War for Survival has Begun
Many of us treat public education as inevitable—part of the social contract like taxes and basic civic services. Yet government-run schooling is not the only viable model for preparing young people for the modern workforce. Alternatives already exist: charter schools, homeschooling, blended learning, and fully online programs. As these options gain traction and technology makes high-quality learning more accessible, the pressure for reform increases.
Cauthen recommends a strategic, coordinated plan that enables a gradual, manageable shift for all education stakeholders. Such a plan would blend the strengths of traditional public schools with the flexibility and personalization of digital learning. Without thoughtful planning and investment at scale, public education risks becoming a casualty of change—or being forced into harsh, disruptive reforms.
Parents now face important choices: What kind of education best prepares their children for the future? Is their neighborhood school providing appropriate technology, curriculum, and personalized learning opportunities? If not, families can seek alternatives, or advocate for the public school to adopt modern courseware and digital tools. After all, public schools are funded by taxpayers, and educators work for the students and communities they serve.
About the Author
Charles Sosnik is an education journalist and editor based in Gastonia, North Carolina. He is an education fellow at the EP3 Foundation and a regular contributor to influential education outlets, including The Learning Counsel, NSBA Journal, EdNews Daily and edCircuit, where he writes about technology, policy, and student success. He serves as Editor in Chief for the Learning Counsel.
This article originally appeared on Grit Daily.