"the function of education"

During independent practice of a math lesson earlier this week, a student asked me, "why do I need to learn this?" [We were learning how addition & subtraction were related to each other (fact families), & practicing how to find all number sentences given 3 related numbers.]

After explaining why knowing how to use addition & subtraction, he smiled & said "OK." Quickly, he went back to work, while I thought about what had just happened.

A big part of teaching content is explaining why the learning is important. How will these kids use this knowledge in the future? My class is motivated to learn, but I know they would work even harder if I made more of an effort to set purpose during lessons.

Teaching is not just about content mastery. This MLK quote captures what it's all about. As this semester has come to a close, I'll take the winter break reflect upon how to teach the "whole" child.