TEDxPhilly Response

I loved Chris Lehmann's depiction of high school. Thinking back to my own high school days, I can totally relate to the cycle of going from one period, to another, then another, then lunch etc and by the end of the day struggling to remember what I learned in that first period. It's a vicious cycle. I also related to his story about his wife in her high school physics class. The reason I can relate unfortunately is because I did the same thing. One day in my 11th grade physics class, I was bold enough to ask my teacher when I would need to use what we were learning. He told me that unless I go into a career in physics I won't ever use it but maybe to pass my SATs and get into college. Needless to say I became very uninterested in what we were learning. Years later, I figured out that it wasn't WHAT I was learning that was important, but rather the skills I was acquiring from being in that class. It is so important that teachers make what they are teaching relevant to their students' lives. Students should leave class feeling inspired not questioning whether the last 40 minutes was a waste of time. We need to move away from the bubble tests and assess our students in meaningful ways, ways that help show them how to apply what they are learning to their lives outside of school.