A recent article by the Chronicle of Higher Education discusses how the Penn State scandal has influenced classroom activities: http://chronicle.com/article/In-Penn-State-Classrooms/129712/.

This article hit home for me... not because of the topic or because I am surprised that students want to discuss the happenings on their campus, but because I fear that perhaps my own teaching has become too static, too pre-determined... too curriculum-based. In a nutshell, have I become so curriculum-centric that I am unable (or unwilling) to adapt the learning in my course to be responsive to the issues, ideas and concerns that are most pressing to my students? Don't get me wrong; the curriculum is important and it SHOULD drive most of the classroom interactions. But there are a range of ways to approach a topic, to inspire my students and to teach my curriculum... this is my "ah-ha" moment. Its time to expand my view of teaching, time to be more responsive to current events and seek ways to teach my curriculum in a manner that has immediate relevance to those I am interacting with.