Social Studies Autobiography

I do not think I understood who I really was until I experienced my first year of teaching. Before I began my career in education I felt confident in myself and what I valued. I never questioned, however, where those values came from or how that influenced my decisions. My values are centered around my belief in the importance of education. I grew up in an environment where school and academics were the priority. I received assistance and guidance from my parents as they set the foundation for working hard to achieve my goals. When I went into teaching I felt confident going into schools as I believed that I could help every student understand and value education. I was disappointed when I could not reach every student. I think this is why teaching, especially the first year, can be so difficult. Whether I wanted to or not working with students forced met to answer questions that I might not otherwise have answered about myself. Through teaching, I began to understand how my culture, socioeconomic background and experiences in school influenced my own philosophies. In addition, I learned that these influences will inevitably create differences between other students and myself. I believe that awareness of these differences is vital in order to be an effective teacher to every type of student and learner.

My two years of teaching experience has allowed me to develop my philosophy of education which has at its core some fundamental beliefs. Some of these beliefs include the idea that a teacher has a responsibility not only to speak knowledge but also to provoke learners to think. I believe that all human beings and thus students are essentially good and capable of learning pending the right conditions. Since students are constantly changing and come from different backgrounds I believe that knowledge is cultural and therefore a human construction. As a constructivist I agree that multiculturalism is an essential and mandatory asset to the curriculum. Most importantly I believe that teachers should develop a strong consensus of their beliefs because it will ultimately account for purposeful decisions regarding what and how to teach.

My love for teaching is highlighted by my enthusiasm for the content that I teach. Social studies is a subject that I value as it studies human interactions. It involves teaching about different cultures, perspectives and ideas which can be made relevant to every student In the past I have encountered social studies teachers who only emphasize rote memorization of facts. While I do not underestimate the value in learning fundamental facts, I believe that an effective social studies teacher connects the material to the student. As a social studies teacher I hope to promote students to think critically about what has happened in the past so they can make decisions about the future. I believe that social studies teachers should have a passion for their subject. I think this is important because it has an impact on how you teach. Students will feed off of your enthusiasm about a topic. I also believe that social studies teachers should have a desire to work and connect with students. It is important for teachers to understand the cognitive and developmental stages of students in order to teach the material. In the classroom a teacher will inevitabily encounter diverse learners and multiple intelligences. In order to be an effective social studies teacher, I believe he or she should be knowledgeable about learning styles and desire to promote learning for all students.