My social studies autobiography

When asked what my favorite subject was as a grade school student, my response was invariably social studies. My reasons are simple. First, I have always excelled in the social sciences and my very best grades have always been in these subjects. Second, I have always enjoyed the social sciences and find the study of human interaction to be personally intriguing. There is always something to be learned from the social sciences that can be directly relevant to my own life. I have never found that to be as consistently true in other academic disciplines. Thus, when deciding a college major I chose one that included study in several social science disciplines. While my undergraduate major in Management & Society has a silly name and means nothing to most people, it did provide me with a solid foundation of knowledge in history, economics, and sociology that I believe will greatly benefit me as a social studies teacher.

My interest in social studies deepened my 11^th grade year when I took U.S. History with Dr. Schmidt. His demonstrated a deep passion for learning and for the material that inspired me to appreciate history in a new light. He was a WWII veteran who had experienced several of the very events he taught us. He also had a very unreserved personality that made his classes fun and entertaining. He always made logical connection to our lives from the events we studied. He sensed my curiosity in his class and often took me aside to suggest books he thought I would enjoy. His influence allowed me to view history with a new passion and appreciation.

I believe that social studies is important because it teaches us so much about human behavior. Through the study of history we find the answers to important questions that can help us understand why things are the way they are today. We learn about the sacrifices of our ancestors, make connections of how those events impact us today, and can thus apply much of the lessons of history to our own experiences. It teaches us to be responsible and aware citizens. My own teaching style will center around a simple philosophy: you don’t have to like history, but you do have to appreciate it.

I am open to teaching any genre of history and hope to have the opportunity to teach several throughout my teaching career. In this course, I hope to learn teaching techniques and strategies that will help maximize my effectiveness as an educator. Because I lack classroom teaching experience, I feel that it is important for me to understand the resources that are available to me so that I can be best prepared for the classroom and reach my own teaching potential.