Joe Sebestyen
The Most Important Qualities of an Outstanding Educator
Developing Reflective, Competent and Concerned Citizens
Over the past twenty-one years, I have been exposed to various forms of teaching. As a result, I have come to form my teaching philosophy on how to teach social studies. As a future social studies teacher at the secondary level, I have many ideas that I want to take to the classroom. I believe that a great social studies teacher inspires learning. He has to relate the required facts and form the students into effective citizens. Social Studies is a subject that requires passion, while teaching, along with creativity, enthusiasm and motivation on a daily basis.
As a social studies teacher, I believe it is my responsibility to help my students acquire practical skills for work and survival. For example, I want them to improve their writing ability through prompts, journals and essays. I also want to teach them how our United States government works and what their rights are as citizens. Moreover, I feel that it is necessary to provide each student with some kind of liberal arts education to familiarize them with a variety of resources and historical interpretations. I think by providing the students with many perspectives on the past, it will give them a better outlook on life and the world today. As a result, my students will learn valuable skills for the future with the potential of making the world a better place.
The first thing a social studies teacher needs to become an effective educator is content knowledge. A teacher needs to know not only the basic content of the subject, but also multiple points of view and different interpretations. To accomplish, this I must be well-read in historical texts. Furthermore, I must also to be in touch with current events since our present is linked with the past. As a teacher, I will encourage my students to do the same and allow them to draw their own conclusions. I will implement many open-ended questions to have my students think critically and create good classroom conversation.
Next, I would like to break the traditional path of teaching the European and American interpretations of history. In an increasingly diverse and growing world, students need to be taught many points of view. This will challenge them to think in terms of the worlds’ people. It would be very beneficial to incorporate African and Middle Eastern history in the curriculum. Moreover, I will teach the virtues of the United States and the western world as well as where we have gone wrong. This is not to be seen as anti-American. On the contrary, I think this will show how far America has progressed and what improvements can be made in the future. In addition, it would be beneficial in the area of multicultural education. As a result, racism and stereotyping may be eliminated.
I want to develop a teaching style that will demonstrate enthusiasm for all subjects. This will not be difficult, since I love all the areas of social studies. I am also eager to learn new and interesting things in my field. I believe the biggest challenge is realizing that my students might not share my enthusiasm. Therefore it is my responsibly to relate the material in a way that each student can understand, as well as providing motivational activities to my students. I will need to push my students and hold them to high standards.
Another important aspect of my teaching philosophy will be respect. I must show respect to all my students. I must also respect all my students’ differences. I believe that if I show this level of respect to my students, I will be doing my part to create a learning environment where my students will show mutual respect and understanding. Finally, my students must respect their fellow students.
Finally, I need to be an effective teacher in the area of classroom management. I believe this is why many new teachers starting leave the profession. They have poor classroom management skills. I will identify expectations for student behavior and communicate those expectations to students periodically. Also, I will have rules and procedures that emphasize appropriate behavior. I will have my rules posted in the classroom. It will also be necessary to enforce my rules and guidelines, while managing inappropriate behavior. I think having good classroom management skills will allow my students to know what the expectations are and achieve our goals
As a future teacher of social studies my goal is to create an inclusive classroom where students will feel comfortable with me as their teacher. I would like to use this environment to cultivate an understanding of history and the social sciences. Moreover, my students will develop critical skills that they will be able to use in their lives. I would like to impart a value and respect in my students for other cultures, people and other viewpoints of the world. I feel that by implementing these practices, I would be making a positive contribution to humanity.