Interdisciplinary teaching is one of the cornerstones of middle level education. At York Middle School, our teachers do a great job developing learning opportunities that are meaningful, rigorous, and student-centered. One of the most challenging aspects of planning an interdisciplinary unit is ensuring that the connections between subjects are natural and authentic. Contrived connections can often lead to disjointed assignments that are only loosely tied to a central theme.
Some of our seventh graders have recently begun an outstanding interdisciplinary unit centered on the artwork of Robert Shetterly. Mr. Shetterly is a self-taught portrait artist who highlights people who foster change in our culture through his program, “Americans Who Tell the Truth”. On Thursday, January 8th, our seventh graders had the opportunity to participate in small group discussions with Mr. Shetterly. We are thrilled that Mr. Shetterly has offered to display some of his works here in our school.
After spending a day with Mr. Shetterly, students will be “hired” as one of his interns to convince him which of his portraits are the most important. The experience allows students to demonstrate mastery of Language Arts, Social Studies, and Art standards in a way that is engaging and meaningful.
I would like to thank Mr. Shetterly and the teachers that worked to create this experience for our students.
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