This reading has probably been the most eye-opening for me when it comes to what I’m going to teach and how I’m going to teach it. This is the first time that I am able to see how teaching doesn’t have to be robotic and boring; especially when it comes to social studies. It’s all about perspectives and how those are portrayed to our students in the classroom. Mary Cowhey describes the way she approaches different lessons by teaching her students about the perspective they don’t normally talk about; the voice of the oppressed. Seeing how her students understood the lessons and the importance of having both sides of the story made me realize that there is a way to teach students history and have them be engaged. Teaching students about the different perspectives broadens their knowledge and they are able to identify with the prominent historical figures that are often not presented as they should be. The picture I chose to go with my reflection depicts my thoughts after I read this chapter; Cowhey teaches social studies differently than the norm and that doesn’t make it wrong. She changes things up in order to give her students a better understanding of the underlying messages that lie within the stories of the past. As a future educator, I thought that going with the norm was exactly what I was going to do; but now I really want to find new and creative ways to teach my future students the way that Cowhey does in her classroom. I want my students to be informed and I want my students to open their eyes to the different perspectives that exist in history and social studies.
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