Chapter 1 Schools Disrupted talks about the changes that have undergone since the 1960s in the ways parents and teachers communicate. From handwritten report cards, messages for parent conferences left with the secretary, open schools with doors unlocked, to the internet changing the world forever, massive amounts of testing, messages being shared by anyone through social media, emails, Twitter, or Facebook, and school shootings. Five Waves of American School History were also mentioned in Chapter 1. In Wave 1, the Stability Age, the teacher was the center of learning. Disruptions were minor and slow to arrive. In Wave 2, people began to understand that schools had to start adjusting to a world where science had accelerated and society was changing. In Wave 3, the Accountability Age, heavier doses of standardized testing were implemented for the next 16 years. In Wave 4, the Disruption Age, on April 20, 1999, 2 students massacred 12 students and two teachers at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado which changed American education forever. Students and teachers should feel safe at schools, but in today’s society, no one is really safe anymore. Faster and deeper is the best way to describe Wave 5, the Hyper Change Age. Social media assumed its prominent spot in society and schools 10 years ago, but new apps and extensions are constantly being introduced and then adopted by students. Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat, and Pinterest are just a few social media apps that are available and constantly being used by teachers and students. The resources available for students to do research are endless. Students today are digital kids, part of Generation Z, and in many ways products of Moore’s Law. They are connected to the internet on the average of 9 hours each day, watch videos on their smartphones that are streamed from YouTube, Netflix, and Hulu, and they have access to more information at their fingertips than any other generation in history. Educator leaders must recognize what is happening, constantly adapt to a changing environment, and use the disruptions to their advantage. Just like we as educators support lifelong learning for our students, we must also be willing to learn for the rest of our careers if we want to be relevant and be able to lead schools in disruptive times.
Chapter 2 talks about seven major disruptions our schools face today. The seven disruptions include student safety, technology, reform efforts, generational challenges, global ready, diversity, and transparency. Although these seven disruptions have been significant in both their breadth and depth, all schools have been affected in one way or another by their own unique disruptions. In this Disruption Age, the highest need of human beings is to feel valued. In schools, the future will belong to school leaders who recognize disruptions and seize the opportunity to use them to their advantage.
The Saber-Tooth Curriculum is a curriculum that was created based on the survival skills the children needed to be lifelong learners. For example, fish grabbing with the bare hands, woolly-horse clubbing, and saber-tooth tiger scaring with fire, were the main three subjects for curriculum until the Ice Age caused them to have to change their way of thinking. In the Real Tiger School, a teacher opened her own school where students were applying hands-on activities. The curriculum needs to be relevant and up-to-date to be able to meet the needs of all students.
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