Garrett Lynch
I have chosen to become a Secondary Social Science/History teacher as I truly believe that possessing knowledge of our political systems from a historical and current events standpoint provides a base to become an involved citizen who furthers dialogue and action for the good of all. I possess an intense curiosity about all things historical, political, psychological, ethical, and philosophical. The connections among these fields of study are key in presenting the whole picture and backstory of events to students. I feel that understanding the motives and context behind actions helps to deepen comprehension and how we respond. I am greatly looking forward to having a classroom where student discourse, research, and summations thrive.
Aside from curiosity, I am a compassionate and empathetic person overall. Being an active listener to people’s stories and interests and being encouraging and supportive without being judgmental are qualities I value in myself. I feel these qualities are important to be effective as a teacher. Students learn more about the subject matter and themselves from teachers with whom they have a connection. Middle School is a time of uncertainty for many students. I hope that the qualities I possess will help the students to also become intensely curious about the world around us and to see the best in themselves.
I am fortunate that my courses at KU have prepared me with the knowledge and skills to answer this important question and I am looking forward to learning even more about how to address diversity in my future classroom. Diversity in the classroom is a gift. People’s perspectives vary because their experiences vary. They are individual perspectives and should not be viewed as a group perspective. That being said, addressing the varied perspectives in the classroom must come from respect for all people. Just as in the teaching of historical events, there is a backstory or context that added to the event.
Active and empathetic listening is key. Valuing each other’s life journey is key. Knowing that differences can be respected and that attitudes toward something can change more readily than beliefs and that it is OK to have different beliefs is key. Helping students to uncover and address the ‘why’s’ behind their perspectives, attitudes, and beliefs will help them to be more empathetic to different perspectives, attitudes, and beliefs. Addressing diversity and respecting all by exploring people, places and actions help to frame our perspectives. Guiding students to see that their attitude toward something can be reframed and that they can gain perspective of another person’s life is just as important as the content of the curriculum. I will create a bridge between the students and the course content. Being an active listener and getting to know my students will be a priority.
In addition to this, I believe that deep down all students want to learn and want to feel valued in the classroom by their peers and their teachers. They come to the classroom with burdens, deficits, pressures, or obstacles we cannot see as teachers. It will be a priority to always be mindful that students are learning just as much if not more about themselves and their self-worth as they are the curriculum.
Video to embed on page (link below): This video shows how Findings reveal that students perceive teachers' way of classroom management, in-class and out-of-class attitudes, and teaching methods and strategies had positive or negative impacts on student academic success and participation in lessons. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RdKhcQrLD1w
Five Sources I use in my preparation for being a History teacher:
I like these sources because they give information on the reliability of sources. I want my students to know the difference between “junk news” and a balanced media diet. I think students should reflect on what they already know about a topic from social media, personal experience, or other sources. Three sites to help with this are:
The Media Bias Chart, which ranks more than 100 news sources by political bias and reliability: https://www.adfontesmedia.com/?v=402f03a963ba
The Week, is a magazine with short summaries of news and opinions from a wide variety of publications https://theweek.com
www.allsides.com is another meta-source that draws material from across the political spectrum.
Impeachment teaching resources – This is an Education Week article by Stephen Sawchuk https://bit.ly/2RQPg8g
and has resources for upper-grade classes for learning about the impeachment process.
U.S. immigration 1919-2019 – This animated graphic shows the countries from which
U.S. immigrants came year by year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GlJg2h2NrTM
This website is good for building critical thinking about online content – The Civic Online Reasoning website has free resources to help develop students’ ability to look critically at material on the Internet. https://cor.stanford.edu