Elizabeth Brito Activity One: Teaching Philosophy Traditionally, a teacher is someone that children are sent to in order to provide

children with skills and concepts needed to be successful in society. Being a teacher extends beyond that role; I am an educator and a provider, a safety net and exploration guide. I instruct my students through the lesson of the day, but I also provide them with the best learning environment possible. I am there to pick them up when their frustrations get the best of them and I encourage and enable curiosity when they are captivated by the subject matter. I use engaging activities that encourage students to make connections across content and subjects. By using a variety of strategies, such as gestures, music, and think-pair-shares, and maintaining an open dialogue, students can engage with the material in a manner that is meaningful to them. When the students create meaning with the content, they can better understand and retain information while feeling proud and successful. The subject of Social Studies is composed of history, geography, civics, culture, and economics. I find it important for students of Social Studies to make connections with the material to their lives, the world, and other materials with which they have worked or will work with. The curriculum guides teachers through the material they need to teach; it does not tell teachers how to teach that material in a meaningful manner. My goal, as a teacher, is to provide my students with lessons that are active, challenging, engaging, integrative, meaningful, and value-based. In order to do so, I use a variety of approaches to lessons. I create assignments that give students the opportunity to ask questions, research answers, debate, simulate situations, and use their hands and minds to contribute to the community in a positive manner. By integrating subjects I can be more concise, covering content across multiple subjects at one time, affording more time for students to develop understanding, helping students form abstract, logical thoughts about the content. If my students are not learning and growing, then I am not doing my job at being an effective teacher. Frequently, people worry about the decision to teach controversial topics; however, the teacher does not make content-related decisions. The teacher has a duty to follow the curriculum and approach such topics in the most appropriate and unbiased manner possible for their classroom. As a teacher, it is my responsibility to equally represent both sides to a situation/topic as much as possible. While it is important to remain unbiased as a teacher, human nature inclines towards showing bias. This may cause students to notice subtle cues toward one opinion, sometimes thwarting the sincerest of efforts. It is important for students to learn Social Studies because it provides them with the ideas and skills they need to create change. A quality Social Studies education prepares students to become citizens that not only take personal responsibility and participate in civic matters, but also analyze and understand issues in the community and respond to them. Teachers do not always see the long-term return for the hard work they put in, but by giving students the skills they need to be successful, teachers can trust that they are molding good citizens of the world.

Elizabeth Brito

Activity Two: Application of your teaching Philosophy to an Elementary Social Studies Scenario. I would conduct a discussion-based lesson to sort out the issues. My role as a teacher would be to facilitate the conversation as an unbiased third party. Students would decided if they Strongly Agree, Agree, Disagree, or Strongly Disagree with statements. The goal is for students to see how much they have in common with one another, despite how long they have lived in the town, and to understand why students feel certain ways about certain issues. After students from each area (strongly agree, agree, disagree, strongly disagree) are able to voice why they chose the area, I would ask some questions to extend the discussion and get students to relate to one another. To start, I would use a general, age appropriate statement such as, I like to play sports or My favorite season is summer, and move to more specific statements that relate to the situation, such as, I love living in Rural Town. After students move to the appropriate area for their opinion, they will see that students whose families have lived in town for a long time and students from families who recently moved to the area both agree and disagree with the statement. I would then ask them to discuss with other people in their area why they moved to that portion of the room. Once the discussion in each area is complete, students will share with the rest of the class some points of their discussion. As the teacher, I will do my best make sure that students keep comments appropriate and have the feelings of other students in mind we strive to be a safe learning environment where no one feels bullied or excluded. This conversation will allow students to make connections with one another and see that where they are from

Elizabeth Brito does not mean that they do not have similar interests with which they can bond. After the discussion-based lesson, I would invite the mayor to come speak to the class. The mayor is a great person to bring into the classroom because he/she has watched the community grow and has listened to debates from both sides involved in the conflict. The mayor can talk about some of the advantages and disadvantages about the rural town staying how it is and some of the advantages and disadvantages with growing. His insight can help students have empathy with students of the opposite opinion. Additionally, the mayor can be a resource for students to voice their concerns. They can ask he/she questions about the changes and how they affect their lives in the short-term and in the long run. Since an issue of this nature is one that will not go away overnight or with one lesson, I will make it a point to let students know that this issue/topic does not go away when we finish the discussion for the day. It is important to make sure we work to have and maintain a safe learning environment for all students. It is our responsibility to work to understand other peoples feelings and, regardless of when a students family came to Rural Town, we include everyone. I would let students know that, as always, they can come to me with any issues that they may have and, if need be, we will do another activity that addresses the issue and works to make our learning community stronger.