Chapter Ten: Going Beyond the Classroom

"You want (kids) to find themselves, and not everyone is going to find themselves in the classroom. So you want to open as many doors as you can," -Latia (page 175).

I completely agree with this student- I never found myself in a classroom. I found myself through social interactions, through work, and through life experiences. Whenever a teacher was able to hook content to modern-day situations, I was that much more interested in what they had to say.

By teachers connecting curriculum to students' life experiences, it makes the content that much more meaningful. Students are able to apply the knowledge to different scenarios and the students are truly learning. There is a transition from merely memorizing facts to actually remembering and using the information received in the classrooms. Students will be able to remember what they liked and disliked from their learning experiences and expand on their learning intelligences. Text books are not always the most effective way to teach material to students. If the students are able to discover outside resources that connect to them in a personal way, the learning experience becomes intriguing and captivating.