When I think back to my time as a student, my teachers are very prominent within my memories. Sometimes these memories are warm recollections, while others have more negative undertones. Teachers are often highly influential to the tone of these reminiscences. I know how important a good and supportive teacher is to a student's learning and school experiences. A youth's time in secondary education is so important to their development and their future interactions with learning. As a teacher, I want to ensure that I am a positive influence on my students' lives and my teaching philosophy is structured accordingly to reach these aspirations.
Historical Understanding and Criticality
As a social studies teacher, one of my foremost goals is to promote an understanding of history. Knowing facts, names, and dates is important (and key) within a history education. But, I know that our memory is not infallible and overtime these facts will fade from my students' consciousnesses. Something that they will not forget, if taught properly, is how they should examine and work with historical content. I call this historical understanding and I make this my foremost goal within the classroom. Being a historian is so much more than memorization of facts. It is how sources are examined, knowledge is sought out and learned, and how this knowledge is applied.
Knowing how to examine primary sources is an integral part of becoming a historian. I aim to add examination of primary sources into all of my lessons. Frequent exposure to these sources will ensure that students do not shy away from readings and artifacts they may find antiquated. Guided worksheets and questions are provided so that students understand the process of analyzing these sources in a step by step process, before these actions are fully internalized. My students also examine sources from diverse perspectives so that they will understand the importance of learning history through many narratives. Activities often have students find their own sources using provided resources, so that students will have practice conducting research on their own.
When students are reading about an historical event or era, I want them to automatically look for places where other voices may fit in or are missing. If my students are doing this, they understand the importance of perspective. I am a strong believer that "Great Man's History" does a disservice to students. History should not be the story of the rich, powerful, and exalted's actions, but of many different different voices coming together. By teaching history in this way, students will gain a more complex and developed understanding on what history is. In my classroom, I provide sources from many different perspectives so that students will develop a more complex understanding of events that they already have some familiarity with. I ensure that students are provided with the stories of the common people and marginalized groups. After lectures that cover the basic and often told story of an historical event or era, I will have students work on activities where they will analyze how traditional understandings of history change when presented with the histories of diverse peoples.
When students develop an understanding that perspective should be examined when looking at historical content and a will to seek out new narratives and stories, students will have taken the first steps towards developing criticality within historical contexts. Students should question historical narratives and think how events and actions taken could affect disparate groups of people. This knowledge and will will not just affect students understanding of historical content, but also how they examine modern events. Current developments have roots within history. By understanding the complexities of history, students will be able to look at the modern era and find be able to come to an understanding why the world is the way it is. I encourage my students to apply their knowledge of history to modern events and their personal lives. My classroom allows space for students to share their perspectives and stories. As important events occur (i.e. the raid on the Congress and the Atlanta Spa Shootings), I encourage students to relate these events to history that they have studied. While I encourage group discussion I also create a space for students to share their ideas privately as well, so that all students have this opportunity.
Respect, Acceptance, and Open Mindedness
I want to create a positive classroom environment where students will feel comfortable to be themselves so that they will be willing to share their thoughts, feelings, and ideas with the class. To reach this goal I need to ensure that I am always open-minded and kind, and that these traits are encouraged within all of my students as well. If a sense of respect, kindness, and open mindedness is created within the classroom, genuine discussion is more likely to develop. All historical narrative, be it a textbook or a contemporary source, is explained through the lens of perspective. If students are encouraged to listen and learn from each other, they will develop an understanding of this concept, which can transform how they perceive both historical and modern events. Hopefully, they will use this understanding to seek out new narratives and understandings when they come across a new topic.
I employ many tactics to encourage this type of environment. Students may be younger, less experienced, and possibly not as mature as their teacher, but that does not mean like they should be treated like their words do not matter. When a student is addressing me, I make sure that I fully listen and consider what they are saying. By doing this, they will know that their thoughts and ideas matter and I will also have to opportunity to learn from them! I encourage students to actively listen to each other and respect differing ideas and opinions for the same reasons. Students are also supported in sharing their personal experiences, relating them to the content we are covering. This provides students to see perspective first-hand. I create group projects for the students that encourage the sharing of ideas and perspectives, while also providing the opportunity for responses and reconciliations. These activities expose students to a variety of ideas and experiences and have them become adept at sharing their thoughts. As a result, I have noticed greater participation and discussion within the classroom.
Thirst for Knowledge
Learning should not only occur in school. I want my students to see the whole world as a classroom, taking every opportunity to gain knowledge and develop understandings. I always say that "everything has a history." Since all students are interested in something, every one of them can find something about history that they will love. I encourage students to share their personal interests so that I can use this knowledge to relate history in a way that will interest them. While I have not had the opportunity to do this in my student teaching classroom, I want to create opportunities for students to gain extra credit by doing historical research on topics that are interesting to them. I hope this will help students develop a greater love for history and become more open to learning of this type. I also ask them how they best learn and what activities they find the most interesting, so I know what will draw them in. I encourage students to apply history learning to authentic contexts outside the classroom. This will help them develop the idea that history should be examined outside the classroom, not just with me. I often have them relate history to their local community or modern entertainment for these purposes. I encourage them to examine the practical usages of history. Students should think of history not as another dry topic they need to examine to get into college, but as a living and discipline that can be used in a variety of contexts and that changes and develops as more information is examined and new events unfold.
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