Initial Philosophy

Christina Gurahoo EDCI 5060 Philosophy of Education My content area is Social Studies and my goals are to educate and guide students through American History in a way that challenges their perspectives. I will foster a safe classroom where students will be able to discuss historical topics critically and with empathy for the tragedies and triumphs of History. I plan to teach students that there is more than one way to examine evidence, especially when studying history. It is critical to understand multiple perspectives when learning new material and drawing conclusions. I want students to critically evaluate events and people throughout history and question historical decisions. To do so I will introduce topics and ask the class to share their opinions about the issue. Perhaps I will have them write their initial reactions. Afterwards, the class will research and discover new information. Using those sources and ideas they will challenge their ways of thinking in the initial response to the topic at hand. Furthermore, I will teach students how to use primary sources and why they are so important to the study of history. Students will see that original documents such a journals, newspapers, legal documents, charts, maps, etc. from the given time period will provide the best evidence to support their hypotheses. I will demonstrate how to locate primary sources by taking them to the library, showing the class how to use search engines effectively, seeking out authentic primary sources, and determining if a document is not a primary source. I would like to teach my students moral and ethical values in addition to academic learning. Moral and ethical examples are abundant throughout history. I believe that students should learn values from historical events and people. I would like to emphasize that history is continuous. The decisions and events that occurred in the past still impact us today whether they be implicit or explicit. In order for us to understand the world we live in, we must understand what has shaped it this way. In addition, I want to teach my students to be confident in their knowledge and determined to learn. My students will learn the passion for learning through my devotion to their wellbeing, their futures, their skills, and their knowledge. I want to ensure that my classroom is a safe place where we can exchange ideas, opinions, thoughts, emotions, experiences etc. in a setting that is non-judgmental and warm. Yet, the class and myself will be able to express disagreements respectfully among one another, seeing that historical events often have strong emotions attached.

My teaching style will encourage cooperation and teamwork, because I believe we can all learn a great deal from one another. I will be a student as well as a teacher. Students will research, present, and discuss issues together and they will also be given the opportunity to demonstrate their skills and knowledge independently. The class will be a melting pot of ideas, opinions, facts, experiences, emotions of all different backgrounds and I want to embrace all of the above in my classroom.