Well, I think I did it. I seem to have created a blog all by myself since I wasn't even in class to find out how (don't tell). So my big introduction post...here we go. My name is Shannon Johnson, and I hail from Bountiful, Utah, mostly, although I live conveniently close to campus right now in Salt Lake City. As you can tell from the name of my blog, I am a wannabe history buff, just in the past couple years discovering my love for history, but despite that love I still feel that I know relatively little, and am excited to expand my knowledge. I also love music, and play the piano and sing, though my skills are mediocre at best. Music is just a great way to express lots of emotions, and I identify with that on many levels. I love basically all genres except screaming and rap, although I do have to admit I'm a country girl at heart. Other than that I'm pretty boring, no great athlete. In fact, I avoid competitive sports at all costs, but I do like the great outdoors and a nice hike in the summer.
So yeah, I wasn't ever planning on being a teacher until I served an LDS mission in Rochester, New York, and fell in love with the history that took place back there. I gave tours at historical sites where I got to tell the stories of what happened there in the 1800's and sometimes people would ask me if I was going to be a history teacher...I guess they inspired me. I just love talking about the exciting things that happened in the past that have brought us to the point and place we are at today. In high school I thought history was probably the most boring subject imaginable, and I hope to change students' opinions like that by helping the history come alive for them.
In order to do so, I plan on using lots of online resources that help students engage in history...videos, audio tracks where they can listen to John F. Kennedy, activities where they work to create their own Constitution, etc. I have to admit, that I am pretty technologically illiterate, and don't even own an ipod myself, so the idea of podcasts and whatnot kinda freaks me out at this point, but I would be more than willing to learn if it meant the students actually cared about what they were learning. I'll do whatever I can to help them feel like what they're learning is exciting and useful.
So, there you go. That's me.
In order to do so, I plan on using lots of online resources that help students engage in history...videos, audio tracks where they can listen to John F. Kennedy, activities where they work to create their own Constitution, etc. I have to admit, that I am pretty technologically illiterate, and don't even own an ipod myself, so the idea of podcasts and whatnot kinda freaks me out at this point, but I would be more than willing to learn if it meant the students actually cared about what they were learning. I'll do whatever I can to help them feel like what they're learning is exciting and useful.
So, there you go. That's me.
2 comments:
Yes! You've just inspired me to actually want to become a history teacher. I originally picked history because it was an easy subject in high school for me and I'm good with facts. But reading your introduction has given me a little inspiration to do the same.. get students intrigued about history and excited about a boring subject! :)
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