Month: April 2019

There are so many things I will take away from this course; a better understanding of lesson planning, PBL, how to assess both students in a formative and summative way along with assessing rubrics and knowing how to create my own rubric, different and fun ways to present history, how to present a virtual field trip, having valuable feedback and intellectual conversations with my peers about the subject matter,  and I am sure many more I will remember later.

For me, the most valuable piece is having both the insight and conversations with my peers about the subject at hand.  It is very easy (the habitual creatures we are), to sit at the same table every week and talk to those same people every week.  When we do that we only get the insight of those peers that sit at our table.  You all (the professors) forced us to intermingle amongst each other which brought a greater understanding to the subject as a whole.  In many of my classes I sometimes walk away never even knowing some of my classmates’ names.  That is partly my fault of course, but I can say I definitely know everyone’s name in our social studies class and value their opinions.  The virtual presentations were a great way to end class because it showed the diversity of the students and their outlooks on teaching.  I picked up a few things I will definitely use in my classroom in the future.

The last question I will leave with is this…What would our program look like if more, or not all of our classes forced us as students to intermingle more?  My prediction would be that we would have an even stronger education program because we would be building on each others’ feedback and input, like the saying goes, 2 heads (or 17 in our case) are better than one.

As a future educator I know I will deal with difficult topics in my classroom.  The scariest part is not knowing which ones, and will I be prepared enough to handle it.  I think it is important that we as educators stay on top of culturally sensitive topics since we never know when they will make their way into our classrooms.

This past Tuesday I appreciated Professor Bland’s advice on sticking to the facts, and asking for help when needed.  I am the type of person that has a hard time asking for help, but I know this is something I will need to overcome for the sake of my student’s welfare.

I am wondering if schools hold workshops in the summer for teachers that help equip them for difficult topics, especially ones that seem to pop up in their school?  I think this would be helpful.

I did not realize what massive resistance was until I looked it up.  At a first glance, I thought it was a positive thing, like the civil rights movement.  Although it was not defined in class last night, it still sparked my interest enough to make me want to research it on my own.  I did not grow up in Virginia, so it constantly amazes me how much history happened right here, both good and bad.  It also boggles my mind as to the ignorance of public figures that fought to prevent racial desegregation not too long ago.

How do you teach your students that it is ok to stand up to people like Senator Byrd when they are taught to respect adults and those older than themselves?  I wonder if it would be crossing the line to hold a mock protest in my classroom?  I would love to have my students dive deeper into the subject and do some projects to increase their knowledge and hopefully get them more interested in history, especially the history that happened right here in Virginia.

I am very encouraged that both the book and our professors endorse using the arts when teaching social studies.  I definitely believe in incorporating music and the arts into all areas of study.  The book pointed out in Chapter 8 that it is essential to integrate the arts into classroom curriculum whenever possible.  It encouraged using music, drama, paintings, and photos.

I wonder why the arts are not used more?  It is such a great way to connect students to the material and help them retain information.  I can count on one hand teachers that incorporated the arts into our curriculum while growing up.  And I can honestly say I still remember some of the things I was taught.