Chapter 10: Going Beyond the Classroom

"Making connections with the world outside school addresses all these issues, and at the same time it usually helps students appreciate and value school more than they did before."(175) When you are able to connect what you are teaching in the classroom to activities that students participate in outside of school, they are going to be more interested in what you are talking about. For example, being able to relate what you are teaching to a sporting event, or even being able to talk about current events in relation to your class is going to keep them interested in what you are talking about. If you are talking about things that are currently on their minds, or things that they cannot relate to, you are not going to be able to keep their full attention. In agreement with Cushman's statement, if you put the time and effort into relating your material to the world outside of school, students are going to take school more seriously and actually enjoy school for other reasons than seeing their friends everyday, and playing on the sports teams.