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Reflection

Jacob K. Howell

Paris Junior College

Educ 2301.200

Dr. Marian Ellis

December 6, 2020
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Teaching is extremely important in the world today. Teachers help kids learn about the world we

live in, and in some cases can even help students learn who they are as people. That’s why it is

extremely important to develop good teaching habits. Watching these videos has helped me learn

multiple things that could help me be a better teacher, and in some cases can even help me be a better

coach.

These videos had a lot of great ideas that I could use to become a better teacher and coach. The

most important thing is to make sure that the students are learning and understanding the material. One

teacher understood that some books are not as exciting as others, so you must try to make the lessons

interesting enough that the students will pay attention and maybe even be intrigued. I plan on teaching

history, and I can honestly say that history isn’t always exciting. For the lessons that aren’t exactly

exciting, I could add comedy or attempt to compare those moments in history to events that happen in

everyday life. I also learned that it could be good to challenge a students view of the world, without

insulting their beliefs or views.

I learned that it can be good to plan lessons that involve students working together to work on

assignments or even having students have debates. As a history teacher, I could have students debate

about multiple things that have occurred over the course of our history, without using any of my own

bias. I could also have the students debate over current events. These situations can help these students

state their own opinion and allow civil discussion among themselves. It could even help them develop

their own opinions or cause them to see and understand other people’s perspectives. Even when I am

lecturing, I could attempt to present both sides of every argument to make sure that each side is

presented and nobody feels left out. When teaching about politics, it is important to teach about how

our government came to be. I could have students give their opinions on how the government could

have been improved or if it is good the way it is. These lessons were extremely insightful in helping me

figure out how to approach situations like this.

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As a history teacher, some of my lessons might have to deal with current day politics. In a few

of the videos, they discuss politics and mention debating. I could have the students take opposing

viewpoints and have them attempt to convince an audience that these viewpoints would be the best

options. While this is risky, it did seem to be beneficial to the students. I could also have the students do

projects where they study the governments of other countries and compare them to our own

government. I know it seems like all the things I learned have to do with teaching politics, but that is

stuff that I will have to know as a history teacher.

Teaching is one of the most important professions in the world today. Learning tactics to be a

good teacher can be extremely beneficial not only to myself but also for the students. Watching these

videos has been really good, and I hope I can use what I have learned to help my future students.