Integrated Learning At Its Best

The new push in elementary education is departmentalizing the subjects just as you would in middle or high school. What I mean by departmentalization is the students are given one teacher for math, one teacher for reading, one teacher for science, another for social studies instruction. This is happening even in second grade. I know that we have many professionals that do not have training and college degrees majoring in education that are now being recuited to teach. The task of teaching every subject in elementary school is a daunting task but, is assigning a 7 year old to four different teachers really going to benefit the student? I have found that young children learn best when subjects are integrated in such a way that can make connections. The homeroom for young children plays a much bigger role than just a place to put their bookbags and lunch boxes. That classroom is really a society within itself where children learn not only to read, add, and subtract. They also learn how to play with each other, form relationships, take chances in a safe environment that encourages creativity. Much of this is lost when the students take no ownership of their space. I hope that the trend turns back to one teacher with one classroom providing a place of growth and building connections before we start teaching the just the parts.
Tracy Fields