TEACHING PHILOSOPHY

When I first began studying history in college, my knowledge of how to investigate and write historically was minimal. I often approached history from a genealogical or familial basis. Through my undergraduate tenure, I learned how to construct an effective historical argument that positioned the significance of history within a contemporary framework. Thus, my teaching style aims to evoke in students the same enthusiasm of discovery and achievement that I felt when I realized the diversity and cultural overlap within American history. 

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Teaching United States history and public history are often thought to require different instruction methods. However, I present students with various examples of how to use material culture to examine historical events for a more nuanced depiction of the past. Ultimately, I want my students to make connections. To achieve this goal, the classroom in some instances must become the world we live in. I regularly have my students engross themselves in the public realm of history by visiting historic sites, cultural centers, and museums to situate their understanding of history in context with how the public views those same representations of the past. These interactions outside of the classroom also reinforce an understanding of the cause and effect of cultural and historical landscapes. As a student of public history, it is my job and my passion to bridge the gap between students appreciating and viewing changes in physical, cultural, and economic systems over time.