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Thoughtful, meaningful cross-curricular learning is priceless and widely practiced at Tiller.  As others have said here, we've seen this in our STEAM units and in our E.D. Hirsch and Arts Curriculum.  However, to abandon subject-based learning entirely is not a highway I'd like to travel.  Without a foundation in music literacy, it is not possible to teach children to "write a song" about any current issue.  Sure, we can use the current events to drive the curriculum, but inevitably, skills and concepts would get lost in the shuffle.  I believe strongly in some autonomy in subject matter.  I teach music for the sake of music.  When it lines up with other happenings, I love getting immersed and immersing the children in an integrated unit.  The kids make wonderful connections.  But again, those connections are possible because the basic skills have already been taught and practiced.  Practice integration when it's natural and makes sense, not as the driving force of curriculum.  This approach seems to give incredible breadth to student learning and experience at the high price of depth.  In doing so, we might do disservice to the budding Wolfgang Mozarts, Justin Timberlakes, Marie Curies and Mae Jemisons.
Jackie

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Great article. All learning begins with a purpose that makes sense to the children. If it is always our purpose (or the governments) then how much learning is going to happen? 

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Great article. All learning begins with a purpose that makes sense to the children. If it is always our purpose (or the governments) then how much learning is going to happen? 

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-Cheryl

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I would LOVE to be able to do this for our students. To me, this feels right...teaching skills and concepts in real-life situations so that they are applying their knowledge and feel that their learning is relevant! How do we do this in a world that is driven by policy that crams testing down our throats...don't get me wrong - Ms. Cristina and feel that this way of teaching is the right way...and we use it as much as possible. However, I know that I have to give them experience with multiple choice tests and so that they are ready for the high stakes testing that comes their way.  It's about accountability at the end of the day for our schools...how do we shift and move into THIS philosophy or paradigm  without risking accountability?
-Kelly

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This is a GREAT article! It would take collaboration and great planning to pull this off well. I think the time invested would be beneficial to our students. I would love to see more ideas on how this looks like in the lower grades. I would have many questions that I would like to answer before I could plan a "real world " lesson. This is very though evoking and an exciting idea for education! 

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This is a GREAT article! It would take collaboration and great planning to pull this off well. I think the time invested would be beneficial to our students. I would love to see more ideas on how this looks like in the lower grades. I would have many questions that I would like to answer before I could plan a "real world " lesson. This is very though evoking and an exciting idea for education! 

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*Courtney*

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I think it's a great article. Luckily the Kindergarten curriculum is all about real world relevance .

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"Abandoning subjects and teaching cross curricular content using current and historical events is a complete paradigm shift from what education in America (and perhaps most of the world) looks like today, but doing it this way instantly answers the age old question: Why do I have to know this? "

This article has really good points and ideas, and I agree with this quote that teaching around real-world events would make learning more meaningful for students.  We already do this some on a very basic level...graphing predictions on groundhog day, mock elections, etc., but I would like to see what this cross-curricular approach of teaching “the bigger picture” would look like in a primary classroom.

-Katherine

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"The reality is that we're applying more bandaids to the situation that calls for surgery."

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"The reality is that we're applying more bandaids to the situation that calls for surgery."

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I love this concept! It is always my desire to make learning meaningful and relevant for students.  Planning with other subject area teachers definitely engages my students and allows them more access to the information in different ways.  I would love to see some examples of teachers using the current event style teaching with elementary children.

However, I find that it is hard to completely embrace this concept and still fully cover the standards required by high stakes testing in the classroom.  In order to be successful on the tests my students must practice that style of questioning which doesn't always fit with more authentic and meaningful learning.  When do I have to answer multiple choice questions in the "real world?" Our lawmakers have to listen to our voices and create a change and so that teachers can have the freedom to stop applying the bandaids.

Reba

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It seems so obvious, yet I had never thought to switch it around like that (using current events to relate to my curriculum, instead of simulating the curriculum activities in a general real-world type of manner). I would enjoy reading more articles on this type of approach. I would love to see some ideas from a 2nd grade classroom and to get some further inspiration!
Nadine

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Wouldn't it be great if we could teach everything in the Big Picture format? Imagine how excited kids would be to come to school and participate. I think there are many skills that can be taught this way. However, we still have a state/national curriculum to follow and state tests. Until the powers that be recognize the power in teaching the Big Picture, we can continue to make learning as relevant as possible, as often as we can, but must still succumb to the standards and the test. I'm sure we could brainstorm together and come up with very creative ways to teach the Big Picture in many instances, and I am very willing to do that. I think March Madness lends itself very well to counting by 2's and 3's for a starter. But when the rubber meets the road, we have standards that are tested in a manner that doesn't fit the Big Picture. So how to effect change at the state level? How to get our test makers to see the Big Picture?

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Wouldn't it be great if we could teach everything in the Big Picture format? Imagine how excited kids would be to come to school and participate. I think there are many skills that can be taught this way. However, we still have a state/national curriculum to follow and state tests. Until the powers that be recognize the power in teaching the Big Picture, we can continue to make learning as relevant as possible, as often as we can, but must still succumb to the standards and the test. I'm sure we could brainstorm together and come up with very creative ways to teach the Big Picture in many instances, and I am very willing to do that. I think March Madness lends itself very well to counting by 2's and 3's for a starter. But when the rubber meets the road, we have standards that are tested in a manner that doesn't fit the Big Picture. So how to effect change at the state level? How to get our test makers to see the Big Picture?

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Annie

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I fully agree that we need to focus on the world we must prepare students to meet when teaching our students... and that world that looks VERY different from the one our teachers prepared us for. This includes media literacy, analyzing reliable information sources, coding, collaborative problem-solving. I agree with the author's point that rarely do students just need subjects in isolation, and that our subjects are more engaging when they are integrated cross-curricularly and rooted in relevant issues. I had the opportunity to see how meaningful integration can be in our STEAM projects designing a cross-curricular unit with Kelly.
The problem that education has to account for is how to keep schools accountable for students' success without using high-stakes testing. We want our nation's schools to provide ALL students with an excellent education, but it will be difficult for teachers to implement this "surgery" until our entire profession decides that high stakes testing is not an authentic measurement of learning or preparation for a successful future. I get frustrated with the tone of this article and many like it, saying "Why haven't we thought of this yet? Shouldn't teachers be doing this? Duh!" When policy makers decide to assess our students on creativity, media literacy, and collaborative problem-solving, we will see more of that in classrooms.
-Cristina

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This is a great article.  Would take lots of planning and teamwork.  Joy

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This is a great article.  Would take lots of planning and teamwork.  Joy

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This article is makes a lot of sense when we keep trying to connect our instruction to the "real world". It can often be a challenge but it is true that everything thing we teach has a purpose. I have heard kids ask... "When am I ever going to use this is real life?". If we base our teaching around real world concepts then kids will start to see the bigger picture.

I think we should all keep this in mind when we are planning lessons and try to incorporate as much "real world" skills as we can into them!

Caitlin

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I have very OFTEN wondered why we're not teaching actual life skills in class. I guess this doesn't necessarily pertain to us in the elementary level, rather  more so the high school age. But nevertheless, there's so much that should be taught to us before throwing us into the real world and having to figure it out on our own.

I think looking at what is going on in the world around us and teaching towards THAT would be an interesting concept to learn and do. Do I really think I needed to know Geometry Theories in 10th grade to teach first grade? No. I think it would be neat to look at the social issues happening in our every day lives to developing lessons to go around it.

Amanda

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why hasn't this been thought of before? Sounds like STEAM  but I feel like we do a good bit of this at Tiller.....kinda hard to add more to an already overwhelming list of things to teach.
Debbie

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"You have the power to change lives. Use it often."

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"You have the power to change lives. Use it often."

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I LOVE this quote! Making sure we are making learning relevant and engaging through project-based learning! Let's empower our students to change their world through education and to be change makers where they can in their communities!

~Virginia