It is anachronistic to force students to compartmentalize their learning when educators know that students do not truly learn in compartments and we do not want them to think that way. The borders that define classroom subjects need to be dissolved.  In their place, schools should be organized around topics or ideas, much like the Finnish school systems adoption of "Phenomenon Learning".  The benefits of such an approach are numerous. Teaching by topic promotes cross-disciplinary thinking and the material that is being taught in this manner becomes more flexible in understanding and in application.  For example, math should not just be used within the math classroom, but math is another means in which students can understand important topics ranging from religion to photosynthesis.  The less we ask students to box-in their learning, the better prepared they will be to see how everything they learn is connected and their creativity and knowledge with one skill set can be applied in multiple ways.

 

In the short term, while it may not be feasible for schools to completely break down all classroom subjects and replace them with topic-based learning, at the very least teachers should focus more on creating assignments and activities to force students to think well beyond the subject being taught.  This means creating assignments, such as the examples provided below, that ask students to approach a topic of importance and using a variety of skills, explore the deeper implications or possibilities of the topic.