Philosophy of teaching

            I would be lying if I told you history has always been my passion and I would be pleasantly surprised to find a student that thought differently. I eventually found my passion for it and now I want to help other students feel the same way. Many students will not have the same enthusiasm for teaching as I do but that is okay. It is still important for those students to learn the lessons that I hope to give them in my class. Not just the history lessons but lessons that they can take into their every day lives. And that starts with keeping the students engaged even if they do not feel the same way.

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            There are many lessons to be learned in a history class that go above the students memorizing dates and war battles. Critical thinking and being able to analyze historical moments allow students to get a better understanding of history. But it is not just history where these exercises take place. In their everyday lives now and in their future occupations, critical thinking will help supplement their skills. Critical thinking allows students to make clearer judgements in almost all situations. It will allow students to make better decisions and better assess their situations.

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            Critical thinking will be implemented in my classroom in various ways. The first step though is keeping students engaged in what they are learning. If a student is not engaged, then they will not be able to learn as effectively. So, the first step when designing my lessons to find unique and engaging projects and discussions. Many students will zone out during lectures or write so fast that they do not comprehend what they are writing. Not to say I will not use light lecturing when needed but there needs to be other ways of learning. For the students to practice their critical thinking skills my class will incorporate a lot of primary source discussions. For example, I will have students analyze different excerpts from the Treaty of Versailles and get their interpretations of what it means. It will be a class discussion so they can try to interact with their peers to try and make theories about how it will affect the future. And in this discussion, I will keep motivating students to analyze what they found more and more. But the goal is for the students to discuss together about the primary sources with little help from me.

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            The goal of my lessons is for the students to take what they learned and apply it to their every day lives and their future occupations, whatever they may be. I realize that not every student is interested in history, but there is more to be taught in a history class than just dates and names. And it is the learning skills that I hope the students carry with them.