If you're interested in knowing more about your teacher, here you go...
Introduction: Information about my path to becoming a teacher.
I did not follow the normal pattern for becoming a teacher: I attended a junior/city college for a couple years; transferred to U.C. Santa Barbara to study marine biology; changed majors in my fourth year of school to study history and become a teacher; and ultimately changed universities altogether. Upon moving back closer to home and resuming my studies, I decided that I should start paying for college myself. Therefore, I obtained a job with a large company starting as a mail clerk, advanced to customer service then onto project management. Since it was a full-time job, I became a part-time student. Shortly thereafter I started dating the woman I would later marry, and my academic progress slowed further (because I like spending time with my wife - she's awesome and I definitely "married up"!).
Thirteen years after graduating high school, I finally earned a Bachelor's of Arts in History and eventually my teaching credential from California State Polytechnic, Pomona. While I have a strong interest in history, government, politics, economics, and a host of other academic topics, what I find valuable is the ability to apply the knowledge to the "real world" by trying to make sense of the world in which we live; essentially trying to answer the big "Why...?" questions as well as try to make educated predictions about what will happen next. That does not mean that all human events are necessarily explainable, nor rational. Rather, it means that I desire for my students to obtain a useful, working knowledge of the social sciences (history, government, and economics) instead of an accumulation of facts for the sake of winning trivia contests.
One challenge encountered by history teachers is that our field is expanding every day. As the volume of information grows, we are forced to decide what to glancingly cover, expound upon, or even leave out. Every teacher has their essentials that must be covered, as well as the nuances of history that we are personally fascinated by; these classes will be the same. In alternating years we address the required social sciences of government and economics. While these also have expanding amounts of information (e.g. the 2016 elections for government, and the ever-changing conditions of global economies), I do not think that these subjects are as challenging to teach from the perspective of what to address and what to leave out. However the year progresses, I hope the 2020-21 students find our interactions, discussions, assignments, projects, etc. instill within them a valuable knowledge base upon which they can continue to build (as well as an overall fun experience).
Thirteen years after graduating high school, I finally earned a Bachelor's of Arts in History and eventually my teaching credential from California State Polytechnic, Pomona. While I have a strong interest in history, government, politics, economics, and a host of other academic topics, what I find valuable is the ability to apply the knowledge to the "real world" by trying to make sense of the world in which we live; essentially trying to answer the big "Why...?" questions as well as try to make educated predictions about what will happen next. That does not mean that all human events are necessarily explainable, nor rational. Rather, it means that I desire for my students to obtain a useful, working knowledge of the social sciences (history, government, and economics) instead of an accumulation of facts for the sake of winning trivia contests.
One challenge encountered by history teachers is that our field is expanding every day. As the volume of information grows, we are forced to decide what to glancingly cover, expound upon, or even leave out. Every teacher has their essentials that must be covered, as well as the nuances of history that we are personally fascinated by; these classes will be the same. In alternating years we address the required social sciences of government and economics. While these also have expanding amounts of information (e.g. the 2016 elections for government, and the ever-changing conditions of global economies), I do not think that these subjects are as challenging to teach from the perspective of what to address and what to leave out. However the year progresses, I hope the 2020-21 students find our interactions, discussions, assignments, projects, etc. instill within them a valuable knowledge base upon which they can continue to build (as well as an overall fun experience).