Curriculum should be...

Curriculum should cover all the subjects:  Language/reading/writing, science, math, art, music, physical education.  Even though there are times when these subjects need to be taught separately, lessons should be interdisciplinary most of the time.  Nothing in life, especially jobs, deal with just one subject.  By doing projects like the bridge project described in our last reading, children learn many subjects by engaging in something they are interested in, and they learn life skills needed for college and a career.  With a curriculum that includes a lot of projects, students learn how to work together.  I must say, though, that I hated projects in school.  I just wanted to do the busy work and get on with my life.  It seemed like projects took too much time and effort.  I was a lazy teenager!  I remember one project I did in middle school where we made a miniature lighthouse out of household objects.  We even had to wire it so that it would shine light.  Do I remember any of the busy work I had to do?  Not really.  This week, I took my preschool class on a field trip to the zoo.  One of the dads who came with us said that he was so glad we were going on the field trip because it would be a good memory for his son.  He said that the things he remembers most about his early childhood were of fun events like this one.    

Not every day can be a memorable day at school.  That would be exhausting!  But a curriculum needs to incorporate interdisciplinary projects in order to be relevant and practical to students.  And it's more fun for a teacher to plan and teach!