It seems that public schools focus on teaching the subject matter material, but fail to teach why it’s important to learn the material.  How about spending more time teaching WHY it is important to learn the information in those required subjects.   If students understand why, they will learn faster and easier, and will retain information longer.  Students need to be shown and taught the benefits of learning each subject!  There are so many benefits to learning-- I just don’t think most people realize that until after high school, if ever.  Prior to college, besides my favorite subjects, I remember learning only because I needed to get good grades, not because I thought the material was interesting or useful or would benefit my future.  I know why it’s useful now; I just had to figure it out for myself.  Parents should teach their kids why it’s important to learn, but so should the public school system.   Based on rigorous research, the public school system should put together a program that teaches students why learning curriculum (that the schools system chose) is important.  Facts and numbers should be shown and this info should be drilled into students over and over again so that by 6th grade every student can articulate to an adult the reasons why math, science, history, social science, etc, are important to learn… and how learning those subjects will benefit their future.

If I were to test this hypothesis, I’d track 100 random 1st graders and use a well thought out program to teach to 50 of them.  I would track their grades over the next 10 years.  My prediction is that on average, the students who are in the program would get at least a half grade better in all subjects, if not a full grade.

As kids, we always did better in the subjects we enjoyed.

Teaching the benefits won’t necessarily ensure that a student will enjoy all classes as though they were all their favorite classes, but it will definitely be better than if they didn’t know any benefits of learning the material.  In other words it could only help.   I know that without having to do any research.

What do you think?