Death of a Subject

Yesterday we spent time in our math and science methods classes and it struck me that there was a common theme: making the material come alive.  Is science a set of discrete facts to be learned -- discovered by white men in lab coats?  Or is it accessible to everyone, alive and changing?  Is math a set of discrete facts to be learned-- discovered by white men wearing tweed coats?  Or...see above, same question.

We have talked about making the material relevant to student's lives since the start of the program so this is not a major "aha" moment.  However, it struck me that all subject matter is capable of being "killed." Math, science, history, reading, writing...you name it. They can all be taught in a way that reduces them to a set of rules and facts to be memorized.   Each can be taught in a way that makes them lack relevance to anyone -much less an elementary, middle, or high school student. Take, for example, grammar.  I remember diagraming sentences in the 9th grade.  While I never have struggled that much with grammar in my own writing, I detested learning formal grammar.  Indeed, it was something at which I failed miserably!  Math, science, history -- it was much the same.  I was not "interested" in these things.  They seemed irrelevant at the time and so, I resisted learning them or learned them without much care.

I was very involved in politics when I was young (so I was living history, in fact) and yet the two -- my history class and my budding "political;" life outside were as separate as Africa is from North America.  I think what this illustrates is another point -- that we can tap into what students are interested in from their own lives to engage them in learning.  I suppose if my history teachers had made a connection between my political activities outside of school and history, I might have been more interested.

As teachers we need to know our students well enough to make the connection between their learning and their lives.  I think it is also critical to allow students time to explore their own ideas and interests and respect their discovery process....I guess this is similar to what we talk about in math.  The right answer may not always be the most important or desirable endpoint -- the process along the way is what counts.  I like what Regie Routman states in Reading Essentials:

Unless we reach into our students' hearts, we have no entry into their minds.  Through drill and memorization, we can get students to complete assignments and pass tests.  But their is a price to pay for such short term accomplishment.  We will never inspire our students to learn for their own sake and to love coming to school (pg. 12).