“How am I going to use this?”

“Why are we learning about something that happened three hundred years ago??

“Why are we doing this?”

We’ve all heard some variation of these comments from students at one time or another.

I’ve written and shared about some potential responses at The Best Resources For Learning About The Concept Of “Transfer” — Help Me Find More.

Now, The New York Times Learning Network has announced an intriguing “challenge” to students: Connect What You’re Studying in School With the World Today.

They’re challenging students to connect something they’re learning in school to something to something that has been published in The NY Times over the past year.

And they also offer some helpful suggestions.

It’s actually a useful activity for any teacher to have students do, and I suspect many have/are doing just that (if not, it seems like it might be worth trying) – connecting a lesson to any kind of media posting about a current event.

Of course, having it connected to a NY Times contest and potential widespread recognition could make it more tempting to students, whether you’ve done an activity like this in the past or not….