First Week of Classes
Well, this has certainly been a fast paced, off to the races, beginning of the semester. I am struggling to defeat feelings of being overwhelmed and scared. The longer I am in school, the more I become aware of who I am and how I function. Honestly, I am a procrastinator to the core. It's awful and I wish I could destroy this aspect of my personality, but it is difficult. It's not that I procrastinate everything; if there is something "easy" that I can accomplish and finish, I will complete these tasks and be ahead of schedule three weeks in advance. However, the assignments and projects that require deep thought and attention, I hold off until the last minute. This semester, I plan to break this awful habit.
This week in Social Studies Methods, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the article Powerful and Purposeful Teaching and Learning in Elementary School Social Studies. Though I enjoyed reading the article, I also found it shocking and saddening. The idea that Social Studies instruction has been cut back is mind blowing to me. I struggled in school to find joy in learning about social studies and did not find a passion for it until I entered college and took Western Civilization (surprising, I know). This article encouraged me to become an aware and active Social Studies teacher. I plan to instill a love of this subject in my students' minds by teaching them the importance and meaning of history, geography, civics, and economics.
The older I get and the more aware I become of our culture and the people in it, the more I realize the importance of teaching Social Studies properly. It's amazing how many people are misinformed in today's time, especially since we are such a technologically-centered society. Most people receive and believe their news from one specific news source. They do not take the time to discover if the source is legitimate or not, or if it is reporting the whole truth or not. I blame the school system for this fault. I think students need to be taught the importance of the question "why?". Properly teaching Social Studies can utilize this question and encourage people to become thoughtful, challenging, and knowledgeable citizens in our society. Reading this article helped affirm my previous notion that our society needs a change in Social Studies instruction, and this change needs to begin at the elementary level.
This week in Social Studies Methods, I thoroughly enjoyed reading the article Powerful and Purposeful Teaching and Learning in Elementary School Social Studies. Though I enjoyed reading the article, I also found it shocking and saddening. The idea that Social Studies instruction has been cut back is mind blowing to me. I struggled in school to find joy in learning about social studies and did not find a passion for it until I entered college and took Western Civilization (surprising, I know). This article encouraged me to become an aware and active Social Studies teacher. I plan to instill a love of this subject in my students' minds by teaching them the importance and meaning of history, geography, civics, and economics.
The older I get and the more aware I become of our culture and the people in it, the more I realize the importance of teaching Social Studies properly. It's amazing how many people are misinformed in today's time, especially since we are such a technologically-centered society. Most people receive and believe their news from one specific news source. They do not take the time to discover if the source is legitimate or not, or if it is reporting the whole truth or not. I blame the school system for this fault. I think students need to be taught the importance of the question "why?". Properly teaching Social Studies can utilize this question and encourage people to become thoughtful, challenging, and knowledgeable citizens in our society. Reading this article helped affirm my previous notion that our society needs a change in Social Studies instruction, and this change needs to begin at the elementary level.
I can relate to you so much. It seems like these first 3 days of class have just jumped off the starting line with absolutely no count down. I am already stressed to the core. I too am a terrible procrastinator, I never used to be but the last couple of years it has gotten bad. I do the same things you do. I like to get things done as soon as I can and if I think the assignment will be easy or that I will enjoy it I will get it done way ahead of time. However, if there is a chance the assignment will be difficult, I will put it off until the very last minute, and I am not entirely sure why. I guess it is just because I dread doing it. But I need to destroy this habit right now!
ReplyDeleteWe have definitely hit the ground running! I want you to try and tackle the procrastination issue this semester. Trust me, this will help you tremendously in this class...but...more importantly, it will help you with student teaching. If you procrastinate during student teaching, you will find yourself in a not-so-good place.
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