original date 2/10/14
Being able to develop and maintain a cross curricular design shouldn't be that complicated. Most schools already ask other subject areas to assist English Language Learners by having students write more and learning how to do short answer responses appropriately, but I think that assistance needs to flow the other way as well.
The specialization in education has put up walls between subject areas, and you rarely see students learning about history in English class or utilizing the text from a science class textbook to talk about force as it relates outside of science. I have sat in those professional development meetings where teachers in different subject areas know so little about what goes on outside their specialization.
I think often about education in the 1970s when students stayed in one classroom longer. These generalists had opportunities to truly develop relationships with students and to impart a wealth of information. I've heard all the arguments against generalized education, but more and more, I perceive greater benefits from a generalized education even up through the high school levels.
The importance of developing all the intelligences in all students cannot be overstated. Gardner identified the difficulty for educational systems that attempted to homogenize education. Specializing means narrowing focus. Think about the medical specialists. Twenty years ago, middle school teachers were still generalists. Today, the specialization of subjects has trickled down even into elementary school.
The man whose whole life is spent in performing a few simple operations has no occasion to exert his understanding, or to exercise his invention in finding out expedients for removing difficulties which never occur. He naturally loses, therefore, the habit of such exertion, and generally becomes as stupid and ignorant as it is possible for a human creature to become. (Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, 1776, Book 5, Part III, Chapter II)
http://www.valleyadvocate.com/article_print.cfm?aid=6385
I think often about education in the 1970s when students stayed in one classroom longer. These generalists had opportunities to truly develop relationships with students and to impart a wealth of information. I've heard all the arguments against generalized education, but more and more, I perceive greater benefits from a generalized education even up through the high school levels.
The importance of developing all the intelligences in all students cannot be overstated. Gardner identified the difficulty for educational systems that attempted to homogenize education. Specializing means narrowing focus. Think about the medical specialists. Twenty years ago, middle school teachers were still generalists. Today, the specialization of subjects has trickled down even into elementary school.
The man whose whole life is spent in performing a few simple operations has no occasion to exert his understanding, or to exercise his invention in finding out expedients for removing difficulties which never occur. He naturally loses, therefore, the habit of such exertion, and generally becomes as stupid and ignorant as it is possible for a human creature to become. (Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, 1776, Book 5, Part III, Chapter II)
http://www.valleyadvocate.com/article_print.cfm?aid=6385
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