Every day has history behind it, we just need to learn to look for it.
I taught one of my first lessons to a small group of 4th grade students in of the elementary schools in Seattle. As I was observing the whole class sometime before my lesson, I had learned that were working on informative texts. My host teacher had chosen some articles on Newsela website and read them to the class. At that time, they were also working on conducting research. Each student picked out the topic and was required to use at least two resources from library and online websites. So, my host teacher showed the class how to navigate the internet by pointing out the websites with search engines safe for his students.
I decided to read an article and show how I found it on the internet during the lesson. When I was searching for the good article, I have found out that the day of my lesson has a historic event that happened in Seattle in 1919. It was the day when the first airmail was delivered by William Boeing and pilot Eddie Hubbard.
“I think that learning is a lifelong experience.”
The Boeing flight museum in Renton was the first museum that my husband and I visited in Greater Seattle Area. At that time, we also lived in Renton. After reading the article I have realized that it can be a perfect opportunity to talk about local community with my students and ask them what they know about Boeing. It was also a good opportunity to learn how different days can represent the important historical events that happened locally and worldwide.
I think that learning is a lifelong experience. There is always something new to learn about. But the desire to learn something new is a habit to have. Many times, people just read something or watch documentary and forget about it after some time. And what makes us to remember the fact is when we search it, analyze it and then talk about what we have learned to our family members or friends. I strongly believe that each event has multiple angles and learning about them allows us to think about the event from different perspectives. It also gives us a bigger picture and an opportunity to evaluate the way how the event is presented.
As a former corporate employee, I know how every employer looks for candidates who can make good research and analyze the information. To do this task successfully, it is necessary to thrive to learn. So, I want to give students multiple opportunities to learn something new. I like the idea of book clubs, guest lectures, community walks, field trips and research assignments.
I also know that there is so much more for me to learn as a teacher. While I was working on my capstone project, I enjoyed reading research papers and books about translanguaging pedagogy. I knew a little about it when I started my research. And the more I read the more I learned about it. The love of reading is unfortunately becoming extinct. I love reading books and I want to pass this passion to my students too.
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