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My Journey to Teaching History

The author discusses their teaching philosophy after realizing they enjoyed public speaking and teaching. Both of the author's parents are teachers, though they did not initially consider it as a career. After switching majors from business to history on the advice of mentors, the author enjoyed presenting class projects. A professor suggested they consider teaching, which the author thought about and grew to like. The author was inspired by many memorable teachers from their own education and aims to inspire students in the same way through creative lessons that develop skills like problem solving and critical thinking. The goal is for students to be impacted positively, even if they do not share the author's love of history.

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98 views1 page

My Journey to Teaching History

The author discusses their teaching philosophy after realizing they enjoyed public speaking and teaching. Both of the author's parents are teachers, though they did not initially consider it as a career. After switching majors from business to history on the advice of mentors, the author enjoyed presenting class projects. A professor suggested they consider teaching, which the author thought about and grew to like. The author was inspired by many memorable teachers from their own education and aims to inspire students in the same way through creative lessons that develop skills like problem solving and critical thinking. The goal is for students to be impacted positively, even if they do not share the author's love of history.

Uploaded by

api-469864230
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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My Teaching Philosophy

Teaching to some people seems like the oddest choice for professional aspirations. Often
you hear the tried and true questions that will always come up in a discussion. For example, “Did
you choose it because it’s easy?” “Don’t you want a job that pays you better than that?” “Are
you doing it for the summers and holidays off?” Surprisingly to these questions, the answer is a
resounding “no”. Teaching was not my first choice of profession when I went into college. My
first year of college was as a business major. There was a reason that only lasted just over a year.
When I decided to switch majors, I had a bit of an identity crisis; how could I have gone this
long without deciding on what I wanted to do with my life in the future? Thanks to the advice of
my parents and advisors at El Paso Community College, I was advised to major in something
that I loved. That was kind of tricky, I always really loved history, but was unsure of what
careers I could pursue with a degree in that field.
It was here through the initial groaning and displeasure of having to go up in front of
several classes and present projects that I realized that public speaking is not so bad. My
suspicions were confirmed by one of my Professors, Dr. Hernando, who complimented me on
being the only one out of my group who seemed to show any enthusiasm in presenting our
project. She then jokingly suggested that I consider teaching as a career choice. Once I heard that
I thought very long about the possibility of being a teacher. Both of my parents are teachers, and
yet I never really considered the possibility of that being the path I end up taking. Once I thought
even more about it, I began to like it even more. I very fondly remember many of my teachers
from my time in primary school. Mrs. Clay in grade 5 social studies, Mrs. Paddock in grade 7
English, Mrs. Sutter in grade 10 Algebra II, and Mr. Kordek in grades 11 and 12 social studies
and psychology.
The reason I remember each of them is because of all the techniques and creativeness in
their classrooms that made their teaching styles and lessons stand the test of time. Each of these
teachers inspired me to do my absolute best and helped me to realize that I can do great things in
this world. When I sit down and ponder it, that is exactly what I want to be, the teacher that is
remembered fondly and not just a blur in the memories of hundreds of students. I aim to be the
tough but fair teacher that pushes students to their highest heights. I want to inspire, like all great
teachers out there, the next generation to also develop good habits to use when out in the world,
whether that world is in academia or at home. All these years later now, I realize that I was not
just learning about the quadratic formula or memorizing the next of many timelines for a test,
rather I was developing skills that I still have to this day. Things like problem solving skills and
critical thinking, that is the goal of what I wish for all my furure students to achieve. Not every
student of mine will enjoy history as much as I do and that is okay, I wish for them to be inspired
the same way I was by the many teachers who changed my life.
There are many ways to go about this endeavor, most of which are not very hard. You
stand out just by being the one history teacher who does not lecture or read off a PowerPoint
every single day. By being the teacher who introduces group work through a variety of ways, or
who includes music from the 1960’s in your cold war lesson, or who shows artwork made during
the time of the Roman Empire in the appropriate lessons, you end up teaching disciplinary skills
to learners of the visual, auditory, and kinesthetic mindsets. With these creative lessons and
inspiring words, I plan on reaching the minds of as many students as I can to make a positive
impact, that, is my teaching philosophy.

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