Cat’s History Corner

  Economics has a major impact on today's students.  Children can definitely see and feel firsthand the effects of poverty.  These effects can include poor nutrition, lack of proper healthcare, abuse, neglect, and even homelessness.  Students living in poverty are at risk for poor academic achievement and dropping out of school, as well as socio-emotional problems and development delays.  But, economics doesn't only affect those living in poverty.  Students from wealthy families may be under the impression that money can solve all problems, which isn't true!  Students need to understand the difference between macro and micro economics.  Macroeconomics deals with issues affecting the economy on larger scales, such as the stock market.  Microeconomics deals with how the economy affects individual families and businesses.   

  Chapter 6 discusses a constructivist approach to philosophy of education.  A constructivist-based classroom helps teachers create a curriculum that is meaningful and adaptable to a rapidly changing world.  Constructivist teachers believe that students create meaning based on their experiences, ideas, and perceptions.  When students face real, motivating learning activities and problems posed by teachers, learning becomes meaningful for students.   The text also explains five significant factors which make the classroom function.  These factors, as stated in the text, are: 1. Students feel safe and secure in the classroom. 2. They experience academic and social success, 3. They acknowledge areas of personal talent and interest. 4. They feel accepted by other students in the class, as well as adults.  5. They contribute during class, and view themselves as an important part of the class.  Class meetings are also helpful in relation to the suc...

As an aspiring elementary school teacher, it is important for me to begin forming ideas of how I plan to carry myself in my future classroom. In order to do this, I need to consider different occurrences in the classroom when students learn and the struggles they may face.   Teaching a class which consists of different students with diverse needs can be difficult.  Everyone learns and understands concepts differently. There is no simple way of explaining a lesson that will resonate with every unique child. My identity as an educator has developed over time through my experiences with fieldwork and observing children in a classroom setting.  I believe it is vital as a future teacher to be able to adapt to situations in the classroom.  With children of a younger age, you never know what could happen on any given day. In addition, it can be hard to predict the response a class will have to a lesson plan.  Ideally, everyone would understand the concepts right...

  This chapter of the text deals primarily with utilizing reliable technology in the classroom.  The chapter emphasizes the importance of validating a source to make sure the information is credible before presenting it to students.  While this is true for any and all academic subjects, I think it is especially important for social studies and history classes.  When discussing social studies related topics, it is so important to provide students with historically accurate, unbiased information to allow them to draw their own conclusions about the event.   The textbook defines "reliability" as "...The degree of consistency that the instrument or procedure demonstrates".  In addition, the textbook defines "validity" as "...That quality of a data-gathering instrument or procedure that enables it to measure what it is supposed to measure."

  “A government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” - Abraham Lincoln Civics education teaches just this: that government should be by and for the people. People have the right to control their government-- this is why we have checks and balances in our three branches of government. Civics is full of Important information to help students become overall better citizens in society.  Why is civics important? It helps students understand how to work together with one another as well as how to get involved in their communities to become upstanding citizens. Learning about civics helps develop critical thinking and analyzation skills in students How do we teach civics? Teachers should create an environment that is democratic and gives the students an understanding of how democracy works.  How to make a class democratic: Classroom meetings to discuss aspects of the classroom that really work well and what doesn't. This...

Today, my Social Studies methods class participated in a mock interview.  Dr. Smirnova chose three students to act as "interviewers", and they took turns asking us different interview questions to decide if we would be "hired" at their school or not.  I thought this exercise was so interesting! I've never done anything like it before in another one of my classes, and it was fun to pretend I was being interviewed for a job.  The girls who acted as "interviewers" were Katie Murray, Megan Jackson, and Lindsay Byer.  Shoutout to you guys, for creating your principal characters to prepare for this day!  The three of them prepared some thought-provoking questions that really allowed me to consider what I think is most important when teaching a lesson, what kind of teacher I want to be, and why I want to be a teacher.  I prepared a resume for the class, and answered each question as best I could.  In the end, Katie ended up choosing me to "hire" at ...