Class Disrupted

Diane and Michael wade into the hot-button topic of teachers’ unions for the first time in Class Disrupted. What role are they playing in school closures and reopenings—and how they can help or hinder innovation in schools?

Diane and Michael dig into the debate among educators around requiring students to turn on their video cameras during live classes, and ask whether policies that punish students for not having their cameras on miss a bigger set of opportunities. Speaking of opportunities, they discuss if we’re missing a big one by not encouraging mastery and deeper learning during the pandemic.

Diane and Michael tackle the question of who the next secretary of education might be by starting with what the US Department of Education actually does. And in the wake of California’s announcement that it will shorten its annual tests by half, they debate how–and whether–annual testing should take place this spring.

Diane talks through the considerations and challenges in reopening schools – and what that term even means – to help all stakeholders think through the central purpose of schooling and how we might measure success in this strange school year.

Michael and Diane tackle the thorny – and often emotional – question of sports and schools in this latest episode, as well as how to think about a change GreatSchools made recently to its school rating formula to try and decouple a school’s rating from the income level and racial makeup of its students.

With students and parents going to extraordinary lengths to take the SAT–and one school superintendent making a football field available so students could take the test–Diane and Michael tackle the question of how much the SAT really matters and how should parents and educators in colleges and districts frame the choice of taking the test right now. They also dive into the suggestion that President Trump made recently that there should be a 1776 Commission to create a more “patriotic education.”

As Michael launches a learning pod for his own daughters, Diane and Michael tackle whether the trend of pandemic pods might actually disrupt America’s schools. And the two consider whether lessons from charter schools that successfully supported students in the spring can help inform what remote schooling should look like for all students.

Diane and Michael return with a second season of Class Disrupted. As the pandemic stretches on and the impact on education remains significant and uneven, Class Disrupted pivots to taking on the latest headlines in education and tackling them through the prism of transforming education and the major themes introduced in Season 1 of the podcast.

In this final episode of Class Disrupted, Diane and Michael look once more at the problems in education, but through the urgently important lens of equity—and advocate for what must be done today

Credits: Hosted by Diane Tavenner, Michael Horn; Written by Jenna Free; Produced by Steve Chaggaris; Publicity/Graphics by Nathan James

Summer has long been dreaded by parents who worry about gaps in childcare and the logistics and expense of summer camps. Diane and Michael explore the advantages of a year round calendar—for parents, kids, and for teachers.

Credits: Hosted by Diane Tavenner, Michael Horn; Written by Jenna Free; Produced by Steve Chaggaris; Publicity/Graphics by Nathan James