“Why is this important to know?” is a question I almost never remember asking in high school. If it was something that could be know, I wanted to know it – that was enough why for me!
Even then, there were a lot of people wiser than me asking why they had to know certain things that didn’t seem applicable to their desired careers. They were asking each other, they were asking their parents.
They were less likely to be asking their teachers – and in many cases, the only response would be “If you want to pass my class, you’d better know it.” Basically, “Because I said so.”
Certainly variations of “Because I said so” are still used – “Because the state requires it” or “Because it will definitely be on the SAT” or “Because you’ll need it to get into a good college.”
But I think more and more students are unwilling to accept these answers – and they shouldn’t. They should keep asking their teachers to answer “why” questions, and teachers should incorporate explaining a topic’s value into their lesson plans.
If something is worth teaching, then explain why it’s worth teaching!
if it’s a subject you’re passionate about, the justification should be clear. If the justification isn’t clear, then you as the teacher should research until it is – or else start asking why that topic is in the curriculum yourself!
For every topic I present to my students, I try to include the why at some point in the explanation/lecture. It helps me truly comprehend the validity of teaching it, it helps me focus how to teach it, and it helps encourage true interest and enthusiasm in my students. What’s not to like?