In the previous two posts, we looked at CSL Studies: the idea of creating a Key Stage 3 curriculum that would allow pupils to make connections between various subject specialisms. There is a balance to be stuck here: how does one strive to make links between different subjects, whilst still preserving the depth and purity of what is taught in each specialist subject?
In this third and final post, we will consider how CSL Studies might practically be set up in schools, as well as the effect, both inside and outside the classroom, that such an approach might have.
The Set-Up: How To Get The Idea Off The Ground?
One straightforward way to get CSL Studies off the ground would be for a school’s Director of Studies or any of those in charge of academic policy to examine each subject’s scheme of work and to pick out potential links. It would be even better if the Heads of Department of that subject undertook this process. However, in either case, there is a very real danger that such an approach would lead to superficiality, with only tenuous links between subjects being made. As such, the project would probably die a death quite quickly.
To have a chance of success, CSL Studies must not be prescribed from above, but instead be allowed to grow organically from below. As has been outlined in the previous two posts, the possibilities for connection between all the school subjects are endless and successful manifestations will depend not only upon the willingness and erudition of individual teachers, but also on the constitution and capacities of particular classes – something that subject teachers are in the best position to judge.
Successful manifestations will depend on individual subject teachers having a thorough knowledge of the syllabi of many, if not all, of the subjects taught at Key Stage 3. They can feed this knowledge into their lessons; occasionally, when the connecting links between subjects merit it, it might be desirable for two or more subject teachers to ‘team teach’ a class.
To get to this state of affairs, a school will need to devote resources to the project, the main resource being a teacher’s time. It could start in a relatively low key way. Those teachers interested could form hubs or clusters – perhaps consisting only of 2 or 3 teachers. These teachers could explore each other’s syllabuses. From these small hubs, a nexus of the whole KS3 curriculum could then evolve.
‘Master of None’?
It is perhaps ironic that subject teachers spend three or more years studying for a degree, and then thirty plus years teaching aspects of that three year degree alone. CSL Studies, given enough time and resources, could feasibly allow teachers to become masters of the whole Key Stage 3 curriculum, thus invigorating their own teaching and professional development: clearly this would have a beneficial effect on the pupils taught by these ‘master teachers’.
CSL Studies Helps Mitigate Against Exam Culture
If it were possible to realise CSL Studies in schools, teaching and learning would happen in a broader context than they presently do. This might help mitigate against the exam culture that is often thought by educationalists to have a negative impact. By simply contextualising teaching and learning in the way sketched above, there will be a more of a chance that what Key Stage 3 pupils learn will be more relevant to their lives. Thus, there will be more of a chance that a love of learning for its own sake will be generated among the pupils.
A ‘Cross Syllabus Link’ Approach Beyond The Schoolroom
- The Economy
This ‘Cross Syllabus Link’ approach to learning is not only useful in acquiring theoretical and abstract knowledge; it is also applicable in developing a practical knowledge of wider culture.
At this moment, it might be instructive to observe how different professions mirror the key concepts of CSL Studies. For example, one of the skills of the engineer is their ability at looking at a complex reality and breaking it down into pieces in order to see how everything fits together.
The analyst engages in a similar process, as does the manager and the entrepreneur. The entrepreneur examines a market or business sector, dissects it, and then looks for any unmet needs that can be capitalised on. The manager communicates with his or her team, gets to know the weaknesses, as well as the particular strengths of each team member, and then unites them in a common purpose.
In essence, the engineer, the analyst, the manager and the entrepreneur are all looking at connections. In the business and technical worlds, it is the connection of people, things and ideas that leads to innovation, creativity and entrepreneurship. Thus, the ability to connect is a way of thinking and perceiving so important for modern life: and it is a way of thinking and perceiving that a ‘Cross Syllabus Link’ approach can help nurture in young people growing up in our twenty-first century world with its international and knowledge-based, yet process driven, economies.
- Society At Large
Finally, perhaps the most important consequence of a ‘Cross Syllabus Link’ approach is that it might help promote the growth of the human spirit in society at large. It can educate the heart as well as the mind. It allows that uniquely human attribute, the imagination, to flourish. For drawing connections between seemingly disparate ideas is a sure way of firing the imagination.
This process of connection takes the student beyond the direct usefulness of a particular technical skill and beyond matters of personal importance. This process of connection develops the capacity to see the bigger picture and opens individuals up to different perspectives and viewpoints. The individual then begins to understand the hearts and minds of others, a type of understanding that breeds tolerance and empathy, a type of understanding that connects people beyond the potential parochialism of their everyday lives.
As EM Forster wrote, “only connect” – how right he was.
