My 10-year-old asked that question when we were fortunate enough to visit Pearl Harbor and the USS Arizona Memorial. His point was not that history class or school was irrelevant, but that he learned more from an hour at the memorial than any time in class discussing Pearl Harbor.
I was proud of his insight, and it was not the first time experiences with my children have raised questions about what and how we school. Should we encourage days missed from school specifically for first-hand experiences? How do we make school as impactful as experiences such as these?
I am a strong advocate for student attendance. The first key to success in school is being there. But, as educators, we sometimes lose sight of the fact that not all education comes from school. It is frustrating when parents pull students out of school for a week or more to go on a vacation. And if legitimately the only thing that happens is suntanning on a beach, then that week of school and education is lost. But when the trip involves culture, history, family, geography, culinary, and scientific learning, school didn't happen, but education did.
I realize that not everyone can travel with their family to visit Pearl Harbor. We have been fortunate to travel from the American Midwest to England, Serbia, Jamaica, Puerto Rico, and Hawaii with our kids. Three of those trips took our kids out of school for a few days, and I have no regrets about their missed classes. Whatever reading lesson, math practice, or PE activity they did on those days could replace the learning that occurred by walking through London, Belgrade, and Pearl Harbor. They had read about Big Ben and seen pictures, heard countless stories from relatives about Serbia, read books, and seen documentaries about World War II. They knew little about Jamaica or Puerto Rico, and I don't think they could have found them on a map.
No book, lecture, documentary, worksheet, or collaborative class activity could touch the experience of being at Pearl Harbor, riding the boat to the USS Arizona Memorial, viewing the remains of the sunken battleship, and touring the grounds to read the informational signs about the attack. All this led to more of my kids' questions, like how Japan could fool the United States so badly. The experience of being on site helped make the history real; learning was done because it was interesting, and my children have built long-term memories about the horrific events of December 7, 1941. Not because a state learning standard said it needed to be covered, and not because there would be a test.
Yes, middle school history is important, as is elementary school math and high school science. But one hour on the grounds of Pearl Harbor taught more than a week's worth of classes. This presents a lesson about efficient teaching. Rarely do I hear teachers discuss that they have too much time in their curricula, so is there a lesson in efficiency here? Teachers believe that lectures are the most efficient way to get information to students. A park ranger lectured us before the boat ride to the USS Arizona Memorial. Not much of that speech stuck with my kids.
Science classes often talk to students a concept, then do a lab to show students that what the teacher said was true. Math classes are historically designed for students to learn the math tools to use in other subjects, but end up seeming to students as many disconnected, confusing, and irrelevant topics. History classes pick and choose treaties, wars, and cultures to read about in textbooks, with little connection made to how events from centuries ago still impact geopolitics and global trade today.
Flip that script. Start with the lab, and have open-ended questions for students to explain what they think happened. Show a legitimate math puzzle, and have students work to apply anything they know to it. Start history with two seemingly disconnected stories, and weave their connectedness together. Use primary sources as much as possible to dig into firsthand accounts. When possible, bring students to locations that apply class concepts. If that isn't possible, work to bring those locations to students through guest speakers and demonstrations.
The idea of making learning relevant is not a new concept, but it is one educators still struggle with. Teachers have a lot of content they are mandated to cover, and lecturing is a fast way to get a lot of information out to students. Also, many teachers still feel that if they don't tell the students what they need to know, the students won't learn it. After all, that is probably how the teachers were taught. Schools have tight budgets, and extra money for field trips may not be available. Local resources may not support every course that is taught with relevant speakers. Yet nothing drives home the need like seeing how fast and permanent learning is when experienced. So the question is, how will you intentionally work to make classes important to students?
#studentcenteredlearning #experiencesfirst #teaching #educationalleadership
Photo source: taken by author on June 28, 2025
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