When I was in eleventh grade, I took a course called JHMT (Jewish History Museum Tours). The unique factor in this course was that as we learned about the 5 waves of Jewish immigration to America, we  visited a variety of places and museums that were relevant to the topic. Through this method of education, we were really able to understand and connect to the material that we learned. Having the visual and experiential aid enabled us to get a much fuller picture of the people, time, and place we were learning about. One of the places we went to was The Tenement Museum, which is discussed in the article. Through this experience, we were able to imagine for a couple of hours what it was like to live in such conditions day in and day out for quite an extensive amount of time. I recall feeling slightly cramped in the tight space, and tried to imagine what it would be like living in that small room with a whole family or in that building with 20, not 5 other families. This course was one that I immensely enjoyed and gained the most from. This interaction of formal and informal learning really benefited the students and enhanced the learning experience, effectiveness, and value.

I very much agree with Gruenewald’s argument. The point of education and schooling is not just simply to amass knowledge and memorize facts. Rather, the goal of learning is to take it a step further and bring it to a level of understanding, comprehension, and connection. By connecting what is learned inside a classroom to what is lived outside the classroom, schools and teachers have really maximized the potential that education holds, and have benefited their students to the utmost degree.