Depth Over Breadth?

I recently listened to Alan November's podcast with Professor Angela McFarlane. I found it very interesting, and it really made me contemplate how the curriculum is being taught in our schools. McFarlane said that we need to concentrate on depth in our teaching, not on breadth. There is such a push to learn all of the curriculum, a lot of content, many subjects, and in very little time. Therefore, we rush our way through the content, assign a lot of homework, and focus on how much we can teach them. But, what does that really teach our students? I believe we are, without realizing it, teaching our students that it is better to know a little about a lot than to understand the process of learning. We are teaching them that it is quantity over quality. What does this mean for their future?
In my ECMP 355 class we have discussed teaching students how to learn rather than teaching them a topic. Our society today is information driven. Technology is constantly advancing, and the world has become a smaller place. We have access to more information and knowledge than ever before. Therefore, we must teach our students what to do with all of this information. How do you use it? How do you know what is true or reliable and what is not? We must, as McFarlane said, focus on evidence based learning. As teachers, we must assist our students in determining what evidence there is to support their learning.
In November's interview, McFarlane also discussed homework. She explained that she believes school time should be more productive. There should be more group work, hands on learning, and students should be able to do their school related learning at school. Students today go home with mountains of homework, and are expected to do a great deal of learning on their own time with only the help their parents can provide. In some cases, this means parents essentially doing the homework for their children. For others, this means their parents aren't equipped to help them and they fall behind. If school time was more productive, homework would fall to a minimum. I completely agree. When I was in elementary and high school I had incredible amounts of homework. I felt bogged down, and found it very hard to concentrate after a long day at school. I was lucky enough to have parents willing to and able to assist me, but I had friends who did not. This resulted in a gap in grades and a major learning curve in my class. Those who did not have support at home and had a hard time doing homework were simply left to fail or struggled to keep up. Is this fair? I don't believe it is. Also, there is a lot of proof that play is important to a child's learning and growth. Kids need to have time to play, run, and explore. With all of the homework that kids are bringing home, they are being robbed of these opportunities. We can't expect our students to dedicate all of their after-school time to homework, they need to grow as individuals outside of the classroom.
Personally, I believe that students today are lost in a system that doesn't reflect our society, our economy, and the world around us. Our education system is stuck in the past. It is stuck in a time where subjects are most important to learn. Since this was okay for us and the generations before us, we assume it to be good enough for the students of today. However, our society is evolving and it is time for education to evolve with it. We are leaving our students at a disadvantage if we do not provide them with communication skills, technology skills, problem solving, critical thinking, and other qualities important for success in today's work force.