1. Educational Philosophy
DavidM. Berger
Social Studies teachers hold the future of democracy in their hands. They are the gate keepers of change, because
they instruct future generations on how to become active participative citizens. Since I take that responsibility very
seriously,I have always used every tool available to me to help my students understandhow their voices are important
for the continuation of our nation’s future as we become more integrated as a global society. Teaching students how
to become lifelong learners and how bestto examine and evaluate information is ofutmostimportance. I encouraged
my students to always question whatthey don’t understand,and to always listen to varied opinions before formulating
their own. I have held to the philosophythatI learned from Roger Taylor from the Universityof Chicago, that“Teachers
can no longer be the sage on the stage,butmustbe a guide on the side.” As such itis myresponsibilityas an educator
to assiststudents in their exploration ofideas using the source media thatis currentlyavailable to them. In order to do
this,it is imperative that I keep abreastof the current and emerging technologies thatare being utilized by students to
acquire information. Itis necessaryfor all teachers to understand thatthe modalities available in the informationare in
constant flux and cannot be shuttered from the school house door.
I also hold to the tenantthat social studies classrooms should be run in an egalitarian manner,where socialnetworking
and cooperative education are key to the success ofthe individual studentas well as to meeting the goals of the core
standards. Ihave encouraged mystudents to rely on each other as they strive to meetthe challenges placed on them
by a rigorous curriculum. Through the use of scaffolded formative assessments,I believe students can monitor their
own growth and reap the rewards ofthis efforton their summative assessments. Itis through this bench mark approach
that students become partners in their own education. Students are always encouraged to find the relevance of past
events as they relate to current issues that are occurring in their lives today.
I believe that we need to encourage students to use a variety of methodologies in order to share their knowledge with
their peers. I firmly believe that it is of paramountimportance to encourage students to not only learn and become an
expert at something but they also must be prepared to share the mastery of that knowledge with their peers and a
greater audience. Declarative learning is seminal for ownership of knowledge. In this wonderful information age,
students learn that they matter, and that what they learn is neither in a vacuum nor sheltered from others. They are
integrated into a learning society that’s achievement as a group is greater than the efforts of the one. Or to put it
another way – “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the one.” Though individual achievementis necessary,
contribution to a greater good helps to demonstrate that sharing creates a greater good than holding onto singular
concepts. In that regard I have always encouraged networking while evaluating individual contribution. It is these
interconnected ideas that help create an egalitarian classroom from which students will learn to become active
participative citizens in the 21st
century.