Blog Question #2



I have to admit that the reading material before my last blog question was unreasonably arduous and therefore I will make an effort to make this one less tiresome and easier to answer from personal experience.

Simply, answer for me this:

1) What perceptions did you have about your Social Studies teachers in high school?

2) How about at primary and intermediate - can you remember any of your teachers showing a real passion for social studies content?

3) If you liked their 'style' did you also develop a greater interest in what they taught through social studies?

Hilary Swank plays the role of Erin Gruwell in Freedom Writers (2007), a naively-optimistic young teacher who battles to form bonds with her students, to create an attitude of social understanding and need for change.

 Just as we witness in Freedom Writers (2007), a movie production based on the true story of Erin Gruwell and her first class of students, the positive impact that a teacher can have in students' lives and learning, there is unending research showing that positive student-teacher relationships improve management, attitudes, and learning in the classroom.

If you intend to read more about the movie and corresponding research about the effects of teachers role in improving students attitudes to learn in social studies please continue reading:

Erin Gruwell quickly learns in her new job, that her goal is to inspire her class of 'undesirables'/ at-risk students to learn tolerance, apply themselves and pursue education beyond highschool (Freedom Writers, amazon.com). Although Gruwell is a literacy teacher, she brings in issues and topics that can only fit into the Social Studies learning area, that deal with different perspectives and viewpoints about 'people, places, cultures, histories...' (Ministry of Education, 2007, p.30). The main overarching area that it deals with is identity - how to show respect for others with diverse culture and identity, and acknowledging that it is necessary to be informed about others identity to gain perspective on your own life and attitudes. The Diaries of Anne Frank, which deals with identity during the holocaust - is integrated to give students a fresh perspective of their own lives at Wilson High School in Long Beach, California. Erin Gruwell showed a deep understanding of the diversity and experience of her students, she also showed a real interest and desire for her students to be successful active citizens. She became passionate about developing in her students a passion for social action and change, and took them out on effective learning experiences outside the classroom to ensure this could happen.

Alazzi & Chiodo's (2004) research of middle and high school students in Jordan, once again promotes the necessity for teachers to have position attitudes towards their students and the subject area, specifically social studies, to ensure that student's will also gain greater interest:

The results showed that the teacher played a major role in how well the students learned. They could make students love social studies or hate it. If the teacher’s enthusiasm for the lesson being presented was noticed by the students, they would most likely feed off the teacher’s energy (Alazzi & Chiodo, 2004, p8).

They also found that students attitudes were positively affected when teachers payed a particular interest in them as an individual and let them get involved in class discussions rather than simply being lectured to as if the teacher was the only one with knowledge and reasonable voice.

They wanted teachers to involve students in class discussions, letting them express their opinions on the subject matter... In addition, Jordanian teachers need to be aware of individual differences among students: different levels of intelligence, different learning styles, and differences relating to comprehension of understanding subject/material. Because of these differences, teachers must not only realize, but also study the differences and use a variety of teaching strategies to ensure that all students have a quality education... It is important for teachers to understand that the teacher is the key factor in a students’ perception of social studies. When teachers use different teaching strategies to improve the learning climate, it is possible that a positive attitude about social studies will transpire (Siler, 1998) (as cited in Alazzi & Chiodo, 2004, p10).

This information is important not only for the middle and high school years but also for the primary years as well. If you agree with this research, the answers to your questions would suggest that you had fabulous teachers that boosted your interest in social studies content and understandings OR alternatively that due to a number of unmotivated teachers who expressed little interest in you as an individual you now lack efficacy or interest in any social studies related issues.