Siloed Subjects Create a Myopic View of Learning

In a traditional academic system of education, subjects and levels are separate entities rather than an interconnected experience. A student’s day is separated into periods/classes that do not need to connect to each other, erasing any responsibility on the part of the institution, administration, or teacher to create through-lines for the student experience. When the infrastructure is based on siloed subjects it creates a permeating sense of isolation and disconnectedness between teachers who in essence, compete for the attention and commitment of their students.

The division of school subjects creates a culture prone to irrelevance because students do not start their day with an overall sense of purpose connected directly to who they are, what they can do, and how they prove it. The start of the day is myopic: what class do I have first, what assignments are due for this class, what are my responsibilities for each class rather than holistic: what am I accomplishing today, what am I adding to my value today, what resources do I want to take advantage of today. The purpose for learning in siloed subjects is completely subject specific meaning the subject rather than the student takes primary position leaving little room for developing relevant education.

When subjects are treated as standalones throughout the school day, we prevent students from developing as complete versions of themselves. And when there is no direct connection between subjects in a student’s experience of the school year, then it makes it difficult to create strong threads between the school years that came prior. If there is no overall goal outside of earning the diploma and setting up for acceptance to college, how are students supposed to develop intrinsic motivation around learning?