Philosophy of Teaching
Philosophy of Teaching
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My personal philosophy of teaching is centered around providing students with the tools needed for success in the real world through the lens of social studies. Providing a strong academic curriculum is also important, but I believe that our first priority as teachers is to help give students the facilities necessary to be motivated and successful people in the job market and in college. I decided to become a teacher because I saw many flaws in our current education system from my own personal experience in high school and in college. The main issue I have seen in school is that the learning itself was not always student-centered. I have been on the receiving end of pedagogical styles that do not put students’ success at the forefront. My goal as an educator is to provide students with an education that not only is academically rigorous, but is rooted in sound pedagogical research that maximizes student learning.
One of the main ways in which I plan to use sound research to maximize student learning is by creating a curriculum that is thematic in nature. What I love about social studies is that it is the perfect avenue to help students see the bigger picture and relate that back to real world problems. However, a common complaint about social studies is that it is boring and unrelatable when in actuality it is quite the opposite. The best way to combat this issue is to design a curriculum that is thematically approach. By clumping social studies into differently themed categories, students will be able to much more easily identify the broader themes of history and correctly relate any historical event into a much broader context. This skill of relating historical experiences into broader themes is much more difficult to do in a traditional chronologically based curriculum.
Another thing that makes my classroom unique from other social studies classrooms is the way students receive content. In my classroom, students will mainly acquire new skills and content by participating in engaging group activities instead of being lectured at. These activities include primary source analysis, group projects, socratic seminars, creating television commercials, mock interviews, mock trials, and more. Powerpoint lectures are relied on way too heavily and students will benefit from being in a classroom that is dedicated to garner as much student engagement as possible. At the end of the day, I want my students to be excited to walk into a history class and my lesson plans reflect that goal.
So, why do social studies even matter in a world dominated by the sciences and technology? Social studies is one of the most important academic areas because it helps students to grow as individuals, inspires them to participate in their civic rights, and helps to provide solutions to modern-day issues. Learning about Civics and Government informs students about their voting rights and inspires them to participate in the political process. History is a great area to help students learn from mistakes of the past and help them grow individually.
Since social studies is so important, it is also important for educators to provide a diverse and impartial education of our past. A big issue that is just now starting to be addressed is the issue of Eurocentricity in the classroom. It is imperative that we as social studies teachers inspire students by giving light to voices that have previously been silenced and to challenge traditional narratives about history. Studies show that students are more successful in life when they can identify with someone who is, or was, a part of their group and social studies is the perfect way to exemplify role models that all groups of students can identify with. It is in this way social studies helps students grow as individuals; by giving students role models that can help them make a positive impact in their communities. Currently, providing diverse narratives is one of my weaknesses and hopefully I can grow in this skill by being a part of this school system.