“The content we teach has real applications to make the world a better place. It's our job as teachers to help children see the connections.”
I believe the biggest problem teachers make is to not show students the connections they have to the new learning that is being taught.
We get so brainwashed by the powers that be about timelines and standards that we forget about the students we teach.
We know that we have to teach certain concepts and skills and we have a limited time to do it. Usually, a curriculum specialist or a department chairperson will have a suggested time frame to teach specific things. All of these things need to be completed so that students are given the information they need in order to do well on the standardized tests that they are given.
By being so wrapped in all of the rules, regulations, and standardized teaching that we forget that students are not robots. They all are not “programmed” to learn at the same speed and retain all the same information.
Students learn differently and at different speeds. I don’t care how many days, months, years, and even decades that they try to make all students fit the same mold, it is never going to happen!
Until we recognize and embrace the individualness of all of our students, we are doing them a great disservice.
We need to show students why they are learning specific skills and how they will apply this learning to their lives. They need to know why it is important that they learn this information.
We need to remember that we teach students, not subjects, not standards, not rules and regulations.
How do you teach these connections? Please share.
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