Edutopia – Stephen Plum
“The question “When am I going to use this?” can make educators feel like we’ve failed somehow. It implies that none of what we’re doing—the lessons and exercises we carefully crafted—actually matters. Whether we teach Algebra II or U.S. History, we want students to be engaged in the subject matter we care about, that we believe has purpose and value. But I think it’s important to be mindful that relevance in learning is defined by the student, or rather, the student’s interests—not ours. The job of a teacher is not just to teach content, but to help students apply it in meaningful ways to their lives.” (more)