To me, Social Studies is a broader study of multiple subjects revolving around society as a whole. These subjects include, anthropology, civics, economics, government, political science, and history. Social studies is unique as a subject because it encompasses so much, as educators this gives us many different ways to reach students. Many different ways to help our students become successful in this world. This is the best part about being a social studies educator to me. I see it as a endless opportunity to reach and change students for the better, specifically because of how many different responsibilities teaching social studies includes. It is much different than every other subject, again because of its unique nature of encompassing so many different subjects into one.
My journey to teaching was not the standard road. In high school my plan was always to be a music education major. I loved music, and I knew that I wanted to do that for a career. As I got closer to college I decided to change my path though. There were a lot of music programs being cut around me, and I was just kind of scared of the future of that job market. I was in AP social studies classes in high school such as AP United States History, and AP Government. So I was involved with higher learning in social studies but I never thought that it would be what I do. As I entered college I wasn't exactly sure which route in education I would take. I spent my first year of college at Marietta College, here I was exploring and trying to decide on what subject to teach. I had a history professor by the name of Brandon Downing. Who taught the basic history courses there. He is responsible for me choosing social studies. I loved his lectures, and looked forward to coming to class everyday. His attitude toward teaching history really made me change the way I think about it. The more exposure I had to his lectures, the more I was solidified in choosing social studies as my content area. My main goal as a social studies educator is to give my students the tools to help them decide how they will positively affect this world. If I can do that, then I will be very happy with my decision to become a social studies teacher.