Integrated Connections at South Effingham Middle School
It is a truth universally acknowledged that nobody stays in school for
Algebra II, or so says a student in Fires in the Bathroom by
Kathleen Cushman. Annually, more than 1.2 million U.S. high
school
students drop out of school, that is roughly 7,000 dropouts per school
day (Wise 8). The consequences of this
crisis, for dropouts and for society are severe. On average,
those with no high school diploma earn $260,000 less over the course of
a lifetime than those who graduate from High School (Wise 8). Also, high school dropouts are far more likely to be tax
consumers than taxpayers, use welfare and public health services, and
commit crimes. Researches estimate that each high school dropout
costs society approximately $209,000 over the course of his or her life
(Wise 8)
So, if not for
Algebra II, why do students stay in school? Cushman's student
suggests that
it is because some teachers learn to ask the right questions.
Questions that cause students to think, questions that relate the
content being taught to their lives, questions that bring meaning and
purpose to their studies beyond the passing of a test. Teachers
who ask such questions are said to teach an integrated
curriculum. Integrated curriculum as defined by Virtue, Wilson,
and Ingram is an inquiry-based unit of study that combines class work,
field study, and a service-learning component (Virtue 4). Many schools have
moved toward Integrated Curriculums, realizing that it is a more
effective way of connecting with the students. School's that
teach an integrated curriculum are infused with excitement, there is a
feeling that important work is waiting to be done, that there is no
time to waste, and that school is an adventure not a required drudgery
of childhood.
First Impressions of Curriculum Integration at South Effingham Middle School
I was filled with this sense of adventure upon entering your school,
South Effingham Middle (SEM). I was sent here to observe in a
business and computer sciences classroom as required by the Masters in
Arts of Education program at Georgia Southern University. My
first task was to get to know SEM, so I spent the first few days
wondering your halls. The students were delightful and their
excitement about learning infectious. I watched them as they
changed classes, admired their work proudly displayed on the school
walls, and learned with them in their core classes. I quickly saw
that South Effingham was doing a fabulous job in integrating their core
curriculum, I was impressed and the students were engaged. Then I
began observing in the business and computer sciences classroom, where
I watched Keyboarding and Careers classes. I noticed the
difference at once, the students did not enter these classes as engaged
as they entered into the others. There was a sense that these
were simply throw away classes, a requirement that had to be meet
before moving on to the next grade, a waste of time. I
wondered way the students felt this way, and if these feelings extended
to all connections classes or was it reserved just for those in the
business and computer sciences department. Upon some further
observation, I found that generally the students approached all
connections classes with the same lackadaisical attitude. But
why, I wondered. Connections classes are important, as the name
implies, they are designed to serve as a bridge between the core
subjects areas and daily life outside of the classroom.
They should be the most integrated and engaging of all classes, so why
was there a problem, why the lackluster attitude?
