Sounds a bit like a disaster waiting to happen to me, but I lived it and it was the best thing that ever happened to our family!
Recently I was introduced to a concept I had not heard before, disruptive innovation. Well I hadn’t heard of it but it turns out I’d lived through it! As two words on a page I could imagine the direction they would be heading with the article but I had no idea how close to home this concept would hit. I began thinking about education, and more specifically online education, as I read Education Is Ripe for Disruption by Eric Sheninger. And as I read I reflected on a situation that rocked my world about ten years ago, and the fact that it was that experience that was likely the beginning of events that have led me down a path to pursue my master’s degree in an online program! Who would have thought this would be possible a generation ago?
I was introduced to online education about a decade ago and as intriguing as it was, quite frankly it was also terrifying. I don’t know if it was more terrifying because of the situation around which we stumbled into studying online or because it was my son, who was in the latter part of his high school career at the time, that I was sending down this unfamiliar path as a last ditch resort to ensure he completed High School. But a we needed a plan and by combining Florida’s online virtual school, classes and the local community college, and a two year technical certificate course in the culinary arts at a local trade school, we had effectively put together a blended, personalized, online plan for his education. Did I really say that?
It sounds very strange to me even now as I reflect on the position I found myself in the day he came home, very agitated and proceeded to explain that another high school student had pulled a gun on him as he was leaving campus. There were witnesses and no doubt it had happened, yet since the officer assigned to the school hadn’t seen the incident the school couldn’t do anything about it. How could I be surprised or refute him when he announced he wasn’t going back, EVER! The school’s best answer was see you Monday, mine was I think not. I started searching for options. I knew of the dual enrollment with the local community college and thankfully Kyle did well in school and could pick up some classes there. For his electives he opted to enroll in the culinary arts program at a technical school nearby and for the rest of the required courses….?! I learned through one of his gymnastics coaches that Florida had an online program for high school students called the Florida Virtual School. Thankfully that would round out our program so he could finish the requirements for his diploma.
I’m still not sure why all the legwork seemed to fall on us, I suppose the school figured he would just come back, business as usual. We weren’t of the same mind so it was a stressful few days figuring out what to do. And of course now he would need a car to get from one place to another, that wasn’t in the budget either. But what a relief to have a plan, and at the same time what a nightmare. Who had ever heard of virtual school? Would he learn what he needed to? Would he even do the work when I left for work and his brother was at school all day? Would a college accept these online credits? Was this going to be a constant battle to get him to stay engaged for two years? Talk about forced disruptive innovation.
Thankfully I was pleasantly surprised, in fact I’d venture to say it turned out to be one of the best things we ever stumbled into. Oh we had our days and our battles but it didn’t take long to see that he was learning far more than his classmates and was much more engaged than they were. It was then that it dawned on me that it may be a long while off, but I could see this online learning thing as the wave of the future. Well here we are about ten years later and an online degree is no longer unheard of but readily accepted with more academic institutions stepping into online coursework. There are commercials on TV for online virtual schools, employers are calling for tangible and soft skills in those who are graduating. Somehow we landed ahead of the curve. I’m just glad we landed – on our feet!
February 23, 1028