Disrupting Education

Clayton M. Christensen, Michael B. Horn, and Chester E. Finn Jr. discussed disruptive innovation in education at the American Enterprise Institute on October 27. Despite the negative-sounding theme, their discussion wasn't about wrecking the educational system; rather, they discussed how to improve it.

Horn pointed to the theory of multiple intelligences as a reason students struggle to learn in a standardized setting. He argued students learn better in a customized setting where they can learn at their own pace and through methods that work for each individual.

One talking point that the panel continuously debated was the idea of virtual learning—where high school students take online courses but are not necessarily in a traditional classroom with a teacher. Having a virtual school would allow students to take the courses they want and learn in their own manner, and because of the low cost of the "schools," more money could be spent on other educational priorities. By 2019, Christensen and Horn think 50 percent of high school courses will be online. Finn challenged this opinion, saying teachers and teacher unions are too powerful to let their job security be threatened.

Do you think virtual schools would be a positive disruption to education's status quo?