Writing Across The Curriculum
Teachers are special people. They never quit, even when faced with seemingly impossible tasks. An admirable quality by some people's standards, foolish according to others -- but an unavoidable fact of life if you're a teacher. However, no matter how willing the spirit, there is a limit to what is humanly possible, and two of the biggest challenges facing today's teachers are time management and curriculum demands.
Effective time management can be achieved either by packing more productivity into a limited time frame or by eliminating the amount of work to be done. Generally, most of us attempt the first option, and though we may be successful for a while, eventually we get sucked under -- no matter how fast we dance. The second choice is definitely preferable. Make time go further by reducing the amount of work to be done. It's not as difficult a task as it first seems.
The educational curriculum is established by government and dictates what is taught in schools. How it is taught, however, is left primarily up to the various school districts, the individual schools, and the teachers providing the instruction. And though teachers tend to get caught up in their own areas, there is a great deal of crossover from one subject to the next.
Eliminate the duplication and two things happen: time is saved and learning becomes more meaningful. Language arts is the perfect vehicle for connecting and integrating the different aspects of the curriculum. Anyone can do it -- at any level -- the trick is knowing how.
Discover how to cut down on your workload, increase subject relevance, share teaching and evaluating responsibilities, make lessons more interesting, and postpone teacher burnout by using writing across the curriculum -- even with math and physical education!