Elem Social Studies 15 (Sophia)

In class it was brought to my attention how EASY it is to spend a whole class time on one topic. Just yesterday we focused on the definitions of “revolution” and “reaction” which lead to our class focusing on the topic of the Boston Tea Party for most of our class time. This must be frustrating to teachers who feel the need to teach to the test and speed through certain topics to get through everything. But this also brings up the importance of frontloading. If teachers took the time to do several hands-on activities or partner activities when first teaching, then the information learned is more memorable. This allows the teacher to spend less time during the last weeks of school. Teachers should be able to take their time like we discussed yesterday. Teachers should not feel the pressure to stick to a certain schedule and race through material despite their students giving them certain signs that they are not ready and not grasping the material. This just leads to more confusion.

My expectation of this class is to learn more hands on activities to teach social studies. History in high school was my least favorite class and I just realized after our last EDUC 308 class that it was because of the way my teacher taught it. My high school teacher only made use of PowerPoints and worksheets about the previous nights readings about names, dates, and places. We never had the opportunity to do an activity similar to the one done in our EDUC 308 class with the picture. Even though the history being taught is different between elementary and high school, high school teachers should still make use of primary sources like the picture or different creative activities that teach the history curriculum.

My expectation for my teachers is to have them continue to impart their advice and wisdom from their past years of teaching onto us. I feel as though education is a career where you learn something new everyday and I would love for my teachers to share some of the important lessons they have learned.

The expectation I have for myself is to gain more experience leading towards becoming an elementary teacher. Through past education classes, I have been able to visit different public schools in Richmond and talk to different students. Each of these experiences, students, and teachers have taught me different lessons that are useful for my education career. I feel as though no experience in visiting schools, meeting new teachers, or completing educational projects will be the same, which is why I want to continue to do so to learn more.