Integrated Curriculum

     This week we have been focusing on the benefits of having an integrated curriculum, that is, bringing different subjects together in a meaningful way throughout the year. Integrated planning, to me, is basically teaching in such a way that you don't necessarily need a specific math, language, or social studies time. Having an integrated curriculum also leads to project-based learning, which I think is really exciting and a great way to learn. My concerns about teaching an integrated curriculum are few. I think that it would take a lot more time up front, but would ultimately be easier throughout the year. My main concern is whether or not I would be able to come up with a meaningful way to fit it all in. I feel like you would really need an annual plan to be able to do this well so that you can avoid simply doing a bunch of disjointed units.
     I think that the reason we don't see more interdisciplinary learning in schools today is the heavy focus on testing and the standards that both teachers and students have to meet. I think that many teachers feel as though they have too many things to do to sit down and come up with a plan that will fit everything in. It basically comes down to pressure. When teachers are feeling like they have a ton of things to do and less time and resources to do it, they go into survival mode and do not necessarily think about ways to make it all easier. I think that we are suffering from the tendency to check the box simply because we don't know what else to do.
     I think that the Common Core will make it easier to advocate for creating time for non-tested subjects. It seems to give the wiggle room needed to be able to teach these standards in a variety of ways. Furthermore, I feel like proponents of the Common Core think that it will teach students to apply knowledge to other areas and think creatively, effectively making them more well-rounded. Don't well-rounded students need to know more than just math and language? What's the point of learning those things if you can't apply them? And I think that social studies, the arts, and science are the prefect venues for applying concepts learned in math and language, don't you?