Teaching Social Studies At Bowling Green State University

Teaching Social Studies is something that has been in the back of my mind since I was in high school. When I first came to Bowling Green State University I was majoring in Psychology, but I realized that it was not for me. After I changed my major I ended up in the AYA ISS Program, and I have never thought about changing my major since. Going through this program, have really enjoyed my classes that have furthered my education. These classes also solidified my many reasons for wanting to teach Social Studies. These classes also taught me how to teach Social Studies, and which ways of teaching are the best for my future students. The most important aspect of taking these classes at BGSU is that they prepared me to become a great teacher candidate

As a future teacher, I want to make it “real” for the students and relate it to their lives. Overall, my understanding of the content I will be teaching is another reason. I mean I do not know everything, I will be teaching, but I feel like I have a grasp of a lot of it. Another reason I believe I will make a good candidate is because I have learned a lot from my CMTs I have had over the last three semesters. My CMT this semester, Mr. Lefevere at Sylvania Northview High School, was especially very inspiring for me. Not only did he give me a lot of good ideas for lesson I could use in a government classroom, but he also showed me how to create a good rapport with the students. His students showed him so much respect in his classroom. For example, one day a student was talking in class and being disruptive, so my CMT told him to stop and to get back to work. After class this student came up to Mr. Lefevre, and he apologized for being disruptive in class. Later I asked him how to get that kind of respect in the classroom. Mr. Lefevre told to just show my future students respect and that I am human too. He explained that if you show them that you are not perfect they will start to respect you more. Finally, the biggest reason that I think will make me a good candidate for teaching Social Studies is motives for wanting to teach overall. I, as a future educator, want to impact my students’ lives, and show them that they can trust me when they think they have no one else. I also want to help my students figure out what they want to do with the rest of their lives. I want to be able to get them ready for life outside of high school, whether it they college, work, armed forces, or whatever they want to do. This to me is the biggest reason that I will make a good