[JSR] How Can English and Science Connect?

Although many schools faithfully stick to their usual district curriculum, there are other schools that teach with interdisciplinary systems. Interdisciplinary courses are where one takes multiple classes, whether it be English, Science, History, and more, and these subjects all correlate in some way. At Grover Cleveland Charter High School, we engage in just that by learning different subjects all at once, and in the end, writing a large essay combining all of these subjects and topics together. We usually have a big theme which everything correlates to throughout the year, and there are many subtopics that are included.

Interdisciplinary courses can change many things such as one’s perspectives because instead of thinking about different subjects as separate ideals, one can start seeing the correlation and connections throughout each topic. The themes change each year, giving the curriculum a diverse range of flavors. Topics that are covered through interdisciplinary learning at GCCHS include racism and gender as an example, which can help the class know more about each other and open up about topics that people usually do not bring up.

This expanded learning helps students broaden their relationships, expands the community around them, and make school a more open and comfortable environment. Furthermore, this type of learning also leads to students and people in general getting closer about things that they have experienced. Although this helps bring people together through similarities, it also brings people together based on their differences since it allows people to realize other perspectives and ideas.

I personally enjoy learning about these different topics that connect together because it keeps me interested in classes and helps me to realize the number of things I did not realize beforehand. When we went over the Africa unit, for instance, we learned many things about Africa that I did not know of before, including the fact that Africa is not all about the Sahara desert or the many other stereotypes. After learning about these ideas, I will never be able to hear the word “Africa” and picture a sunset in the wildlife, or the Lion King anymore.

Interdisciplinary approaches to education help open one up about their lives and their viewpoints. When this is done, others start to appreciate and acknowledge things that they have never seen in that way before. It helps to bring a sense of knowledge to this world and the topics that are arising in it either socially or politically.