Cross Curricular Elements

I love the idea of being able to bring in other curriculum elements into my lessons.  My sweeping statement for teaching is that we are educating the youth of today to ready them for the outside world.  So, if this is the case, then it makes absolute sense to be covering more than one KLA when planning and teaching lessons.
My discipline areas for study are Home Economics/Hospitality and Mathematics and to me nothing screams more REAL life than Home Economics.  I have had a number of comments from peers regarding the 'odd' mix of my disciplines but I have much pleasure in telling them of the opportunities that I have had to bring Maths into my Home Economics lessons. Pie graphs, tables, conversions, chemical compositions and numerical variation are all Maths based tools that I have used in the Home Ec classroom.  Whether we are measuring out our ingredients, measuring the required material or working out how many grams of carbohydrates we should have in our diet, we are using Maths.  The one thing I need to remind myself of is the fact that it is okay to spend time on other areas within the curriculum.  Too often, we get caught up on getting through the content of the lesson and don't stop to consider whether the class understood how or why we are doing things.  If it takes 20 minutes to go through how to work out what 60% means, then is that such a bad thing?  I make assumptions that the students will have covered these things in their Maths lessons (and they probably have) but did they actually understand it?  I have also experienced this with relation to senior subjects where I have assumed that by year 12 they would well and truly know how to structure an essay.  Unfortunately, this is not the case and many students have needed to be guided through the genre before they can begin the actual assessment.  So, although this may not have been factored into lessons - it is a very necessary skill that needs to be taught.  I guess this is why some lessons just do not go to plan - we need to be flexible when planning so that we allow for situations such as this.
One of the teachers at my last prac school told me that he believed we were all just 'Teachers' - not a Maths teacher, science teacher etc....a 'Teacher' - someone who has the ability to guide students' learning.  I constantly worry about my lack of content when I enter the classrooms and have been reassured by many teachers not to worry - that the content will come.

Issues faced by adolescents

I am so glad that I am not an adolescent in todays society!  Having finished high school in 1991, that time of my life seems like it was forever ago and that is OK by me.  Adolescents seem to be faced with so many more issues and pressures than I ever remember.  The ones mentioned in our course readings (body image, eating disorders, disabilities and mental health) cover only a few of the obstacles that adolescents will face.  Within the Home Economics discipline, we are constantly trying to relay the message about healthy eating and lifestyles but have to be so aware of the differing situations of the students around us.  I am always very careful not to make assumptions, generalisations or judgements regarding particular topics because I am not aware of what is going on in the student lives outside of the classroom.  These topics would include such things as body image, eating disorders, self worth and family arrangements. 
It levels of committment of some of these students amazes me.  Not only are they trying to find themselves in what must be a difficult transitional period of life, but on top of this, they also have to worry about finishing high school, working out what they want to do when they leave, work part-time, play sport, socialise with friends..........and the list goes on.  They are so busy!  In one mouthful we are telling them that they need to enjoy their adolescence and the next we are insisting that they take responsibility for their learning and lives.  I would imagine it must be very difficult to find the perfect blend.
I guess what I am trying to say is that as a Learning Manager, I need to take into consideration the pressures and issues facing adolescents when I am planning my learning experiences.  It is unrealistic to think that I could know everything about each and every student, but I must try and find that connection that allows me to be the very best educator that I can...