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I think education and job force preparation has become too specialized. "What's your favorite subject" is a simple small talk starter but reflects the idea that eventually all students need to pick (their sports, their major, their career path). There needs to be a returned focus on a complete education. How do we do this? Stop traditional testing. We need to turn away from manufacturing education and go to a renaissance inspired education!

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I think doing away with standardized testing would be better and keep education relevant--so many students learn in different ways and at different paces that just attempting to define their future (college acceptance, etc.) with  standardized tests is idiotic.

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Education by definition is an enlightening experience. Culturally relevant teaching utilizes the backgrounds, knowledge, and experiences of all students to inform the teacher’s lessons and methodology. As an educator, it is our responsibility to engage students in authentic learning that our students are going to value. It is a challenge for us as we seek to prepare them for an ever-evolving world. We need to prepare our students to be future ready and that involves schools to rethink the traditional instructional strategies, and try new approaches to personalize learning for all students. We as a country need to support teachers growth in professional development and encourage committed, passionate individuals to enter the teaching professions. Learning is a lifelong adventure for me. It is a process to excite, build knowledge, communicate and collaborate for the betterment of our communities. Today's teachers need to teach set curriculum, based on standards, but they must integrate communication skills or "soft skills" into their daily classroom routines as these skills are necessary for student success in the 21st Century. Utilizing technology in the classroom allows teachers and students to work on the creation of new tasks, previously inconceivable as we transform and encourage collaborative learning environments to support critical thinkers and future leaders!

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I think we teachers have to just keep doing two of the things we do best, building relationships and being flexible. Being flexible helps us adjust our teaching towards what is currently relevant and remove what is not as times change. Building relationships in the classroom and outside of the classroom is super important so we know what is relevant to our students personally and what the outside world like future employers think is relevant too.

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I agree with Brandon. Know what your students love. Or connect with current events- we watch CNN student news and the kids love anything that connects to that.

I did a poetry project where the kids had to do a compare contrast paper disguised as an album book. They had to choose a poem, explain the theme, then find three songs that share the theme. They had to put it together as a booklet with the printed lyrics (I just asked they blacked out any non school appropriate content) on one side, then a comparison paragraph on the other that used quotes from both sources (I gave them a model paragraph). They had to make an artistic cover to reflect the theme. Some of my really low kids did really well on it.
Also incorporating media worked really well. For persuasive we wrote scripts and filmed and edited commercials. We had a watch party for them when they were done. I let them choose their own product with my approval. It was probably my best project of the year- some of them chose to do a second one for their final portfolio!
I find that if I can disguise the writing in a project, their buy in is usually better. And almost all my kids are below grade level (3rd-6th grade level), low income kids, so projects are the most engaging!

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For me it's completely about knowing your kids. You have to be in tune with their interests to keep them invested in what they're learning. It's hard for me to relinquish what interests me and look long and hard for what the kids want/need to know. For me I do this with a lot of my nonfiction assignments... Current events, discussions of inflammatory topics that kids care about, as well as really making clear why kids are being taught the skills they're learning in our classroom. Be sure kids know why they need to be able write a summary, etc...

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It's very important to know what matters to your students. Whether they want to be doctors or sell marijuana, an education will excel them to the top of their field and make them more capable in life. Constantly draw parallels to their goals, but also make sure you help students see the relevance of how an education can help them become a better person.

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That's why building relationships with our students is so important. Even from class to class, relevancy can change. By knowing your students, you can effectively create and help students find relevancy.

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How do we measure change when our measure of change keeps changing? I think relevancy should be solely based off of what the students find relevant. Not any easy task though

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From an outsider who deals with these "kids" after they graduate with absolutely no clue, can you teach actual problem resolution & creative reasoning? Half of my job consist of dealing with people that haven't got a clue how to handle problems outside of being upset all the time.

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The abilities to seek out and solve problems, to assert one's opinions, to hear and engage with the opinions of others, and to work cooperatively will never become irrelevant. The topics of study will naturally evolve (e.g. in English new novels and poems are chosen as students' interests and worldviews change and expand, and in technology new software will replace outdated ones), but these topical pieces should always work toward the larger goals of cognition, meta cognition, self-expression, and cooperation. In short, teachers need to be students of their students. Pay attention to their needs and situations, as well ad the skills that their future jobs will demand. Teach topics that are engaging and future looking, but more importantly, use the topic of the lesson to teach students how to think! That will never become irrelevant.

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I think the best way to keep education relevant is to have a classroom environment focused on discussion and understanding, rather than the regurgitation of facts. Take for example standardized tests: if you are only teaching children to pass a outdated, irrelevant test, then you are not teaching them how to utilize their education. It is important that students understand the concepts behind the knowledge and that they can utilize this knowledge in real world situations; not only on a Scantron form.

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I agree completely! To extend off of that I think it is important for us to continue our education as educators in general, not just with technology. It allows us to learn new things, and to learn about how what we already know may have been changed or improved. This will allow the topics we teach to stay current and relevant!

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I think that a huge piece of remaining relevant is making sure that you, as an educator, are keeping yourself up to date with technology and embracing it as a classroom material. I think a lot of teachers become comfortably numb to innovation via technology, and fight against it, but it's such a powerful tool and it's only going to become more present in our schools, community, and world.