A group of educators and administrators visited Fairfax County Schools in Virginia two years ago to look for things the district was doing differently that would benefit our students. One of the most intriguing things, to me, was the existence of blended English and History courses.
As educators, we constantly encourage our students to learn how to work collaboratively and to use what they learn in our classes in other areas of their lives. This advice makes everything that students do in school relevant. I am sure that you are familiar with the importance of modeling a behavior or a skill for our students. It is time that we practice what we preach. Robin Dauma and Bridgette Drummond, teachers at Bob Jones High School, were willing to lead the charge in the first offering of an Integrated AP Language and Modern US History class and I applaud them.
These teachers began working together to build their curriculum last spring, as soon as the curriculum was approved. They met several times, here at CO, during the summer. They sought out resources and created the content for their class. Throughout the year, they have continued to collaborate to find ways to benefit and challenge their students. They are leading by example.
On Thursday, February 7th, Mrs. Dauma and Mrs. Drummond, along with Tyler Theakston, Taylor Theakston, and Bradley Spindle (students in the integrated pilot class), spoke to the success of the class thus far. Students spoke passionately about the relevancy of the content of the course and of the ways that they have been to relate to the content of the course and use that content to real-world issues, passions, and problems. We thank them for their willingness to be among the first to try the integrated class model.
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