Philosophy of Teaching and Learning
Unfortunately, many students find their social studies and history classes boring. This impression of irrelevance creates a disconnect between their interests and the curriculum they need to learn. How then will learning about the advancements of the Ancient Greek Empire, the fall of the Soviet Union, or the importance of becoming involved in their community stimulate their interests? As a potential teacher at this school, I have a philosophy and approach to the discipline that may encourage my students to become involved in, and enjoy, the history and social studies lessons they need to know.
In an ideal classroom, students would constantly be active participants withintheir own learning. We would be able to facilitate and reinforce the critical thinking traits that we want every student to obtain. However, this is rarely the case. Some students will maintain as passive a role as possible. They sit in the back of the classroom, allow others to volunteer and answer questions, waiting for the period to end. It is with these students that we must employ a wide variety of methods to get them involved. Therefore, by engaging students in multiple, and diverse, activities, they can show an interest in their learning and become active participants.
I believe that at times there are essential knowledge and skills that must be taught; in this, I have been influenced by essentialist philosophy. There will be times when discussions or activities will not be an option. Certain curriculum must be taught, or situations arise where too much time was given to specific topics. Therefore, days will come up where I must give a lecture or PowerPoint presentation in order to give my students the necessary knowledge they need for the tests that will be part of the class, or the standardized assessments.
However, the approach that has had the greatest influence on my teaching is scientific empiricism. This will be demonstrated throughout the year as the students read, analyze, and break down primary and secondary sources. Students will then formulate opinions - since they love doing so - regarding the topics that the sources address. However, the goal of this aspect of the class will be having the students be able to defend their arguments and opinions with factual evidence and historical authoritativeness found within the sources, as well as their own prior knowledge.
Teaching philosophies are fantastic, but they will only take you so far. An enormously large aspect of teaching is the interaction that will take place between students and fellow teachers. I once worked with a fantastic teacher, Mr. Gregory Reiff, who told me that every teacher must implement the 3 Hs within their classroom. The 3 Hs are: heart, humor, and hammer. Heart deals with the fact that the teacher must build meaningful relationships with his students and fellow teachers. Humor is just a tool to be used both in and out of the classroom. It can lift a student’s spirits and brighten their day. Hammer applies to the idea that the teacher must be ready and willing to come down hard on those students who break the rules or act inappropriately. Therefore, through use of various teaching philosophies and other methods, I believe I have the tools necessary to engage my students critically with the curriculum required for social studies and history courses.