In many ways, the current COVID-19 crisis has provided the impetus, or else opportunity, to examine the state of education and schools today. Currently, responses have focused largely on instrumental, pragmatic concerns that would allow formal education to "return to normal" as soon as possible. Perspectives such as these demonstrate the ongoing prevalence of values surrounding educational efficiency and how the pursuit of efficiency continues to dominate the field of educational reform. Thus, this essay reflects on the ideas of place, pace, and purpose in education surrounding the problematic nature of efficiency and asks instead to consider how we might shift our gaze to reconceptualize education in the contemporary period and beyond.