My first seven years of education were spent as a seventh and eighth grade social studies/history teacher. I taught on subjects ranging from the Maya, Aztec and Inca civilizations to the Bill of Rights, and the Constitutional Convention. It was a rewarding teaching experience, and I found that students were far more enthusiastic about the topics than expected.
So, I have some firsthand experiences, knowledge, and wisdom that I can share as part of this piece. There are no great secrets about what will make you a successful history teacher. You have to be well-read, familiar with the content, enthusiastic, and be willing to experiment and use multiple instructional strategies. Students will engage with the content and material if you challenge them and allow them hands-on experiences. When you are utilizing direct instruction and lecture forms, it should be interactive, interspersed with Q & A., and have reasonable limitations on duration.
What Does A History Teacher Do?
The primary task of a history teacher is to give their students a broad and general sweep of the period of history they are teaching. One of the general complaints that you may have heard from citizens who are a bit older is that a lot of what they were taught was relegated to memorizing events and dates. Now, there is nothing wrong with knowing such things, but a history teacher’s primary job is giving their students a “big picture” idea of what occurred during a particular period.
What were the primary political, cultural, social, economic, and military developments? Were any present orders overthrown in a political or military revolution? Did any particular racial, ethnic, or gender group suffer or experience substantial progress? What was the final state of affairs as the period closed?
Dates and events will be woven in along the way. Still, the primary way to assess a student’s understanding is to determine whether they have understood and can articulate the aforementioned types of developments. This is the mark of good teaching and student comprehension. It is also the type of understanding that will stay with a student over a long period of time. Short-term memorization, activities that are given in isolation without proper historical context, etc. will tend to be forgotten in a short amount of time.
History Teacher Requirement: Skills
If I were to list a set of skills for a good history teacher, I would include:
- Content knowledge
- Mastery of multiple instructional styles and the ability to weave traditional and progressive modes of content delivery: Lecture, independent practice, project-based learning, discussion, etc.
- Engaging personality
- Ability to enthusiastically deliver content
- Ability to bring present-day relevance to old content/connect the past to the current world
- Ability to summarize broad sweeps of history
- Ability to stay objective and appeal to students who possess multiple points of view
History Teacher Requirements: Education
All states require a bachelor’s degree, a minimum GPA requirement, the completion of the proper amount of subject matter, a standardized testing requirement, and a professional teaching preparation program requirement. There will be variations of this per state, but this is the typical list of requirements a state has. Some states may require a master’s degree for their teaching candidates. Alternate route candidates will follow a slightly different tract, but still have to complete many of these same requirements.
Why Should You Consider a History Teacher Position?
First, you should possess a passion for teaching history and a desire to inspire students. You also need to think about whether this is something you want to do for a career or at least for an extended period of time.
There are certain benefits to a teaching career that other careers do not offer. If you obtain a job in a stable district and meet your bosses’ expectations, you stand a good chance of securing tenure and a long-term position. A secure position will frequently mean a good pay scale and decent health benefits. You are potentially entering a career that will reward you professionally and compensate you decently.
How To Become A History Teacher
What are the initial steps, how does someone start the process? You have plenty of time to think about your career options as you are getting started with your college or university years. Take some history courses. Try substitute teaching once you have the required amount of college credits. The combination of course work and school experience should give you enough of an idea whether this is what you want to do for a career.
Once you have committed to this as a career choice, consult with a faculty advisor and identify the requirements you will need as you move forward towards your dream job as a history teacher. Best wishes to you!
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