Season 3 Preview: COVID’s still here, so class is still disrupted

Foreign. Hey, Michael.

Hey, Diane.

Michael, we are about to be sitting in the same room and getting to look at each other in person for the first time in two years.

It sounds so weird hearing you say that, Diane, and yet incredibly wonderful and exciting all at the same time.

I mean, that pretty much sums up where we are right now. We are about midpoint into this annual six week week period when schools across America launch a new year. And. And weird and wonderful is. Is how I would describe it.

Couldn't agree more. And because what a year it's shaping up to be, right? I mean, while many of us were hoping that we would be able to enter the school year with things back to normal, quote, unquote, the reality is we just aren't there yet. The most recent surge, right, as everyone has seen, fueled by the Delta variant, is certainly a part of what is preventing normal, normalcy. But let's be honest, Diane, that's not everything that's preventing. No, right. I mean, after extended closures, disruptions, and all the trauma that people have endured, everyone who is returning to school, they're just not returning the same. And we've got to face it that people are different. After all that has occurred over the past 18 months, that.

That is so clear to me, Michael, this week, as. As our students return into our schools, you've. You've described it exactly as it is. And, you know, when we started the Class Disrupted podcast at the very beginning of the COVID pandemic, we were observing that the pandemic was laying bare significant shortcomings in our education systems and models. And we really thought and hoped that the incredibly high cost of the pandemic would, at a very minimum, create the catalyst for change. You know, and we had hoped that we could do 10 episodes of this podcast, shine a light on the good work and the great thinking that so many people have done, and then honestly, we could get back to. To helping bringing those changes to life.

All right, so hearing you say that, Diane, it sounds like we were a little bit naive. But in all seriousness, you know, as we've both said, despite a lot of pessimism around us, we are, at the end of the day, unapologetic optimists, both of us. We are obviously in our second season covering the last school year. It was challenging at times, but I think that what we observed and experienced was that no one was really in a position to be sort of getting above all the madness and taking on the really important work of redesign and change. And, you know, everyone was just trying to survive. And week to week, there were dramatically different currents that were changing them at all times. And, you know, in that process, we were obviously able to observe, though some big themes and trends and deepen our own understanding of the issues that are demanding change right now.

That's exactly right, Michael. And so here we are at the start of a third school year that will in large part be defined by COVID 19. We didn't want that to be true, but it does appear that that's going to be true. And so class disrupted. It continues to be disrupted, and class disrupted will continue because we've really taken a step back and reflected and decided to take on a third season and in hopes that we can make a contribution to the collective work of so many are doing in this nation and that our nation really needs.

Yeah, and that is indeed our hope. DIANE and while things remain incredibly uncertain and the day to day work to simply operate schools continues to be super challenging, we do think that there might be some space this year to begin to redesign and evolve our schools so that they are truly meeting the needs of, of all students, all families in our society.

MICHAEL that describes where I am as a school system leader. And I would just add that there are some realities that are going to force change, like it or not. And so we are really in that place of working to both deal with the still constant changes that Covid brings and to be able to look forward and to be able to strategically plan and look further into the future. And so my hope is that we can surface and advance the changes that are bridges to the future and help people see where we collectively want to go and should be going.

And Diana's perhaps the most promising sign of hope. Our next episode of this third season will be recorded in person. Oh my gosh. Right. With a live audience too, at the ASU GSV Summit, which for those that don't know, is typically an annual summit that occurs in the spring. It's been going for over a decade now and rescheduled to August in San Diego. And then we hope all of you will join us this season and we hope you'll share the word in your communities to get other people excited about these significant changes that we're talking about and believe need to be made for this third season of Class Disrupted, available at all of your favorite places to listen to podcasts. And thanks as always for your feedback and support during this journey. And Diane, I can't wait to see you soon.