Deborah Rapson CI 401 Philosophy of Social Studies Education 9/23/11 I have always loved school.

My earliest memory is walking with my sister and brother to their bus stop when I was three years old. I did this every day. My mother would wait on the porch and watch me wave goodbye to them when the bus arrived and then walk back. I insisted on having a backpack with my own books in it, even though I couldnt read. I then spent most of my days playing school. My mother had gotten a hold of an actual chalkboard and a marker board and there were always plenty of craft supplies. I was not disappointed by school when I finally got to go; I had a wonderful kindergarten teacher named Mrs. Pepper who was perfect in every way. As soon as I came home from school, I would play teacher with my neighborhood friends, make spelling tests and math worksheets for them. I was very blessed with phenomenal teachers in elementary and middle school who instilled a love of learning in all their students and prepared me well for high school, where I learned that not all teachers have the same commitment and dedication to teaching. This is also my philosophy when it comes to social studies education my goal as a teacher is to teach my students that education for the sake of education is worthwhile. I want all my students to be lifelong learners. Because of this philosophy, the main approaches I take to social studies education are to teach students reflective inquiry and to aid their personal development. I have always upheld that my main goal of any lesson is to make my students criticize. Over the past couple years during my tutoring experience, I have pretty firmly decided that I want to teach middle schoolers, particularly sixth graders. I love this age group because they are so skeptical. They are full of questions and criticisms and they do not shy away from speaking their minds. I

want to help foster those skills in all of my students. The social sciences are full of debates and contesting ideologies. There are so many opportunities for students to be critical thinkers; not just that they question, but that they voice their own opinions and remain open to others views as well. I will consider a lesson complete when every student has learned something brand new not only about the content of the class but also about themselves and how they feel about a certain issue. For me, a history class is not about memorization and acceptance of facts; it is about thoughtfulness and problem solving. I am also motivated by the need for social justice in our society. Being in education has taught me so much about the inequities in our state and country. I want my future students to be prepared to solve the problems that earlier generations have left for them. The social sciences provide an excellent opportunity to create constructive dialogue about these issues. I have enjoyed so many social sciences classes at the university level because of the small discussion courses. I want my classroom to be full of open and honest discussion. I see no reason why sixth graders should not be allowed to speak out about the social justice issues that affect them just as much as college students. Some people take the viewpoint that when you are younger, you have to first memorize a lot of facts and information and accept what you are told and only then can you make a difference. However, I think the exact opposite is true the best way to learn and truly understand history and social studies is to relate your own experiences. When students see how history, sociology, economics, etc, are relevant to their own lives, they will understand those fields in much more depth. They will then be able to apply the knowledge and skills they have learned in decision making in their daily lives. My philosophy of teaching may overly idealistic, but the more students I can affect in a positive way, the more I believe that those students can really make a difference and create a better future.