By LeiLani Cauthen
Many technology companies and large investment firms are proclaiming that schooling will never return to “normal.” They are correct in a narrow sense — some changes are permanent — but they are mistaken if they believe every aspect of education will move online and stay there forever.
To understand why, consider the typical mindset inside tech companies: engineering teams and product leaders who, broadly speaking, tend to be introverted and analytical. These innovators naturally imagine solutions that make distance irrelevant, that track learning continuously, and that enable highly personalized, virtual interactions. They favor digital interfaces because those work well for the way they live and learn.
But the world is not made up only of people who prefer solitude and self-directed work. Large portions of the population are more social and energized by face-to-face interaction. Human nature — a complex, evolving field of study — does not bend uniformly toward virtual experiences. The social, emotional, and communal aspects of schooling matter deeply for many students and families.
Research and personality studies suggest that most people fall somewhere between pure introversion and pure extroversion. One analysis of personality test trends estimated that roughly 60–70% of people occupy a middle or “ambivert” range, with 30–40% distributed between the introverted and extroverted extremes. If that distribution holds for students and teachers, we can expect a wide diversity of reactions to online learning: perhaps 15–20% will thrive in fully virtual environments, another 15–20% will strongly resist them, and the majority will vary in their preferences depending on circumstances.
These differences help explain the mixed experiences of emergency remote learning during the quarantine period. For some districts, the transition to online instruction was relatively smooth; for others, schooling effectively paused. Across communities, many students and families have reported missing the daily physical presence of peers and educators. The result is clear: while digital learning will expand and play a larger role, it will not fully replace the need for physical schools.
Instead, the future is likely to be hybrid. Schools should embrace technology to enhance teaching and learning, but they should also preserve and celebrate the uniquely human elements that teachers bring to the classroom. Technology can free educators from repetitive administrative tasks and poor-quality content curation, allowing them to focus on the moments where human judgment, empathy, and inspiration matter most.
One practical policy implication is that school leaders should not expect every teacher to become a full-time content producer, piecing together lessons by endlessly scouring the web for free resources. That approach is inefficient, harms instructional continuity, and places unreasonable workload demands on educators. Instead, districts should invest in professionally developed courseware and learning resources that elevate teachers’ roles as mentors, facilitators, and masters of human interaction.
We may be entering an era that blends deep technological immersion with a renewed focus on the humanities and human-interface teaching. This convergence can create an “artisan” age of education where technology is used with precision to address specific needs, while human pedagogy guides students’ mastery and growth.
Importantly, hybrid models also present an opportunity to better serve introverted learners. Susan Cain’s book, Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can’t Stop Talking, argues that our culture often favors extroverted traits — collaboration, brainstorming, verbal participation — which can underutilize introverted students’ strengths. Thoughtful use of online tools can create spaces where quieter students participate more fully, showcasing talents that might have been overlooked in traditional classroom settings.
At the same time, schools must attend to extroverted students who gain energy from group activities, athletics, and shared rituals like proms, graduations, and award nights. School leaders are already searching for creative ways to preserve those experiences even when gatherings are constrained. Maintaining social rituals and communal opportunities remains essential for student well-being and motivation.
My advice to school leaders is straightforward: pay attention to the full range of student personalities. Treat this period as a large-scale experiment that will reveal new insights about how students learn, engage, and thrive. Expect schools to continue in some form, but be prepared for them to look different than they did before. Use technology deliberately to expand access and personalization, and use human-centered design to ensure social connection and emotional development remain central.
About the author
LeiLani Cauthen is an everyday philosopher, author, speaker, research analyst, and futurist. As CEO and Publisher of the Learning Counsel, a research and media organization focused on K–12 education, she produces leadership training events across the United States and hosts virtual professional discussions. She is also the founder of Knowstory and serves as GrandMaster of the Edujedi Leadership Society.