Blogs on Integrated Studies

Months before Americans chose Barack Obama as their forty-fourth president, Crista Lawson, from Aubrey Park Elementary School, in Eugene, Oregon, had a hunch that the 2008 election would prove to be historic. "I wanted my kids to pay attention and be informed about this election," she says.

While in California last week for a meeting, I hiked the hills above Novato, a town north of the Golden Gate Bridge. It was a clear day, and the afternoon sun warmed the west-facing slopes. I followed a dirt road that had been carved out of the hills. An ardent observer of nature, I quickly clued in to the fact that there were a large number of lizards around.

There is a strong case to be made for integrating curriculum. It strengthens skills that students encounter in one content area but also practice in another, and it can lead to the mastery of those skills. It is also a more authentic way of learning because it reflects what we experience, both professionally and personally, in the world.

This is the second part of a two-part entry. Read part one.

Sports teams have booster clubs -- people who straddle the formally regulated school funding arena and private enterprise. This means they are able to act like entrepreneurs -- go for what they want or need, rather than having to convince somebody else (like a principal, a technology director, or a school board) of the worthiness of their idea.