Welcome to my new Social Studies blog!
The new semester has started and here I am, the day after my first Social Studies Methods class, writing my first blog. I am going to make sure that post at least once a week this semester so that my posts do pile up at the end. I have learned from my past experience to better my future. When you think about it, that is one of the core definitions of Social Studies, teaching the past to better the future. I say one of the core definitions because Social Studies is not just about the past and historical facts. It is also about human nature and the study of how people create societies and how societies interact. It is also about geography, cartography, mythology, philosophy, and many other elements that all return to the "social" or the people and how and why we are who we are. That is why I love Social Studies because the more you look back into history and take a minute to examine what the geography of different places is like or the ideology behind different religions, the more things around you start to make sense. Of course, not everything that has happened or will happen makes sense, but through the exploration of Social Studies, you can find answers to a certain degree. These answers can be anything from your friend stands really close to you when they talk because that is respectful in her culture, or the fact that major cities are always by a river because that is where it was easiest for people to survive.
I am so fascinated by learning facts about history. It is fun for me to just have random "did you know" kind of facts and to see the cause and effect relationship between the past and the present. Did you know FDR is on the dime because he founded the March Of Dimes to support polio research? How about, did you know America was founded by cannibals? Well, when the settlers founded Jamestown, the people were starving and the only way they survived the winter was by eating the remains of settlers who passed away. I am also very fascinated by human nature and the studies of psychology and philosophy. That is why I felt very at home when I switched my major to History.
I think many of my good feelings towards history have come from my Social Studies I have had since sixth-grade. My sixth-grade teacher Mr. Sims was one of the major reasons I wanted to become a teacher. He told us on the first day of school that he knew we were a different generation of kids who were always going to be more interested in the latest gadget and technology, so that was how he was going to teach the class. We weren't going to have lectures and textbook work every day, we were going to use the internet to explore topics, we were going to watch videos, and we were going to use Google Earth to explore the places we were talking about in class. He kept his promise. I struggled a lot in elementary school with staying focus and sitting in one seat for hours of the day. Middle school and his class, in particular, changed all of that and showed me that school can be fun. I promised myself then before I even knew I was going to be a teacher, that if I had a classroom of my own one day it would be like that, interactive and far more than a lecture. I remember when we were learning latitude and longitude, Mr. Sims set up a Nerf Gun Launcher in the back of the room and if you guess where someone had placed their base, you got the chance to fire the Nerf Dart at them. I was surprisingly good at that at the expense of Sammy, whose base I hit about 3 times in a row.
I have learned over the years that takes a special person to teach social studies. Every one of them that I have had since then has been a witty, knowledgeable, and touch sarcastic. That personality type really makes it easy to enjoy what you are learning, and I certainly try to be that person when teaching. Well, maybe not the sarcastic part, but it certainly makes the kids laugh and laughter leads the students to better retention of the material. I am actually very excited to teach the students this semester and I cannot wait to start!
The new semester has started and here I am, the day after my first Social Studies Methods class, writing my first blog. I am going to make sure that post at least once a week this semester so that my posts do pile up at the end. I have learned from my past experience to better my future. When you think about it, that is one of the core definitions of Social Studies, teaching the past to better the future. I say one of the core definitions because Social Studies is not just about the past and historical facts. It is also about human nature and the study of how people create societies and how societies interact. It is also about geography, cartography, mythology, philosophy, and many other elements that all return to the "social" or the people and how and why we are who we are. That is why I love Social Studies because the more you look back into history and take a minute to examine what the geography of different places is like or the ideology behind different religions, the more things around you start to make sense. Of course, not everything that has happened or will happen makes sense, but through the exploration of Social Studies, you can find answers to a certain degree. These answers can be anything from your friend stands really close to you when they talk because that is respectful in her culture, or the fact that major cities are always by a river because that is where it was easiest for people to survive.
I think many of my good feelings towards history have come from my Social Studies I have had since sixth-grade. My sixth-grade teacher Mr. Sims was one of the major reasons I wanted to become a teacher. He told us on the first day of school that he knew we were a different generation of kids who were always going to be more interested in the latest gadget and technology, so that was how he was going to teach the class. We weren't going to have lectures and textbook work every day, we were going to use the internet to explore topics, we were going to watch videos, and we were going to use Google Earth to explore the places we were talking about in class. He kept his promise. I struggled a lot in elementary school with staying focus and sitting in one seat for hours of the day. Middle school and his class, in particular, changed all of that and showed me that school can be fun. I promised myself then before I even knew I was going to be a teacher, that if I had a classroom of my own one day it would be like that, interactive and far more than a lecture. I remember when we were learning latitude and longitude, Mr. Sims set up a Nerf Gun Launcher in the back of the room and if you guess where someone had placed their base, you got the chance to fire the Nerf Dart at them. I was surprisingly good at that at the expense of Sammy, whose base I hit about 3 times in a row.
I have learned over the years that takes a special person to teach social studies. Every one of them that I have had since then has been a witty, knowledgeable, and touch sarcastic. That personality type really makes it easy to enjoy what you are learning, and I certainly try to be that person when teaching. Well, maybe not the sarcastic part, but it certainly makes the kids laugh and laughter leads the students to better retention of the material. I am actually very excited to teach the students this semester and I cannot wait to start!
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