Philosophy Statement

I want to teach social studies because I am passionate about helping students grasp and develop the skills, disciplines, their own opinions and knowledge about the world’s past, present, and possible future social climate. Social studies is a complex and diversified subject including many different disciplines that blend to help students do so. These developments of knowledge and opinion are a key to understanding the world and where one’s place is in it, as we are not simply citizens of the U.S. I will become a social studies teacher that will help students become the best human being they can possibly be by leading them to be compassionate understanding global citizens. I will do so by improving teaching methods from the way that my own teachers

Using emotion and other thought provoking tools like essential questions to engage students is one way to give students the opportunity to develop their own views. My classroom will feature these thought and emotion provoking tools like the essential question, which allows students to “[...] explore [the question] from different angles and gather evidence for their answer”, and little to no use from textbooks that “[…] offer students no practice in applying their understanding of the past to present concerns” (Bower et al., 2010, pg 227) (Loewen, 2007, pg 301). At Discovery Academy, I have witnessed math teachers using thought provoking questions more than I have witnessed teachers in social studies courses. I enjoy this idea of asking students why they think they are being taught certain information and how it will help them later in life. And in any classroom that I end up in, I will ask these kinds of intriguing questions, so that my students can learn the importance of learning and expanding their minds. The more I pursue a career in social studies education, the more I gain knowledge about how to best teach the subject so that students are able to take action, come to conclusions themselves through critical thought, and be participating citizens with the knowledge and skills they gain. I began the year as with a “Personally Responsible” perspective and I am aiming to develop a more “Justice-Oriented” perspective, so I can call my students to action to make a difference in the world and understand how and why they can do so (Patterson et al., 2012, pg 192). My social studies classroom will look different than many of those that I have entered throughout my middle and high school careers. In those classrooms, teachers pushed the use of textbooks and used lessons that lacked any connection to present day. I