1. As teachers, we should regularly assess and reassess what learning and mastery means for
students. Learning new concepts, especially in history, is relatively easy: memorization,
repetition, question and answer. While there is no shame in learning new concepts, the goal is to
master and appreciate historical concepts. Mastery and appreciation of history is necessary for
students to become lifelong learners and active participants in a globalized and ever-shrinking
world community. In short, learning provides a surface level understanding of history; on the
other hand, mastery produces an engaged and effective populace.
I grew up in a very small town with values that were not always attuned with mine. I
have always believed in the inherent goodness and potential of all people. Therefore, in my
classroom, students are never permitted to demean or disrespect each other. I have found that
students often do not realize what they are doing is inappropriate. To this end, when teaching, I
don’t use discipline as a punishment, but rather as a means of teaching respect and maturity. As
someone with personal experience facing homophobia, I make sure my students are taught that
discrimination, bigotry, and hatred are not tolerated in my classroom. My hope when students
leave my classroom is that they will have gained the necessary skills to become positive and
driven members of society.
In my classroom, I encourage students to think beyond their comfort levels and aspire to
make the world a better place for all. Ideally, students would come to my classroom ready to be
challenged with open minds and new ideas. That said, as teachers we are up against a generation
of students who have been told every idea they have is equally important. While we should be
open to their beliefs, we (and our students) must understand that not all thoughts and views are
equal – and some opinions are wrong and unfair.

2. When teaching courses on World and American History, it is important to note that
history is taught in a linear fashion, but history has a multitude of potential outcomes and
students should be able to consider outcomes not apparent. To this end, when teaching, I prompt
my students to consider how the world would have been different had certain events not
happened. For example, “What if Rosa Parks had given up her seat on the bus?” or “What if the
Stonewall Riots hadn’t occurred?” or “What if Archduke Ferdinand had not been assassinated?”
Questions such as these often compel students to question their preconceived notions of history.
These types of questions also require students to think critically, promotes mastery, and leads, in
many instances, to personal growth. It is duly important that students build writing skills which
have become less emphasized with the increasing use of texting and the need to limit what we
say to less than 140 characters. My students are expected to write at least one essay each week
related to a relevant global topic. Not only will this build their writing ability, it will also
augment their understanding of the material.
As historians, we have so many resources at our disposal: primary and secondary sources,
documentaries, fellow teachers, databases, etc., but we tend to not use them to their fullest
extent. Each of my lessons include primary and secondary sources to supplement the lecture. For
example, a lecture concerning the Industrial Revolution might include a diary entry from a child
working in a coal mine. To make the lectures more engaging, I use visually appealing
PowerPoint presentations that provide students with key points and increase the likelihood of
questions. Additionally, I facilitate group discussion using the Socratic method with a weekly
“Thought Provoking Question” designed to put past and present in conversation.
The happy byproduct of weekly discussions is that it gives students and their teacher an
opportunity to develop a rapport and learn how others think and the values that critically inform

3. their worldviews. Case in point: If one student views the world from a more conservative lens in
which they believe society is moving too fast in one direction and another student believes the
world isn’t progressing fast enough they can come together to discuss their differences and,
hopefully, come to an understanding of each other’s views. My position as facilitator and mentor
is to help my students understand their differences, but embrace our mutual similarities. Students
should never feel that their feelings and views are being ignored. To an outside observer, my
classroom would be filled with laughter and inquisitiveness. Many students are turned off by a
historical approach that is simply lecture and rattling off dates. If students are taught history as a
personal experience, they are more likely to enjoy and remember it.
The use of standardized exams e.g. multiple choice, short answer, essay have been used
too often to gauge student success and performance. As educators, we need to start moving
beyond the standardized approach and refocus on whether students are becoming lifelong
learners and internalizing the information taught. Many students, who are intelligent, can be
intimidated by the traditional testing approach and perform below proficiency. It may be difficult
to eliminate the standardized approach outright, but each student should have a choice in how
they wish to be tested. On a day-to-day basis, mastery and understanding will be assessed
through five-minute refresher of the previous day’s topic. Each semester, students will present
five- to ten-minute lectures that tie together the past and present. Finally, students will be
expected to prepare a capstone project of their choosing – research paper, documentary video,
class lecture, historical short story.
Professional growth is an absolute necessity for educators. As technology seemingly
changes every hour, it’s integral that educators do their to best to keep up with it. This can be
accomplished formally by attending conferences or professional learning communities and

4. informally by reading articles or viewing YouTube how-to videos. On a personal level, I want to
continue growing as a teacher by shifting between lecture based and video based lessons. I also
would like the opportunity to team teach with my colleagues, so that students understand how
different disciplines are, in fact, intertwined. It is also important for teachers to regularly evaluate
how students and parents feel about their approach. Through these evaluations, teachers will be
able to glean where they are teaching effectively and where they could use some work.
Additionally, evaluations provide an opportunity to connect with parents and create an
environment wherein parents feel you value their insight and respect them their child(ren).