Email:   jan.weaver-baker@mpls.k12.mn.us

MA Education - University of Saint Thomas, St. Paul MN
BA Social Science/Minors Political Science - Education - University of North Dakota, ND

The best teaching and the best minds of students exist throughout our classrooms.  There are endless possibilities for the uniqueness in each student’s abilities and strengths.  I believe that education at the secondary level gives students a balance of knowledge; giving them the skills, knowledge, exposure to information, and appreciation of the disciplines for a better quality of life for themselves and society as a whole.  Through the study of history, students obtain a better understanding of the world.  My teaching goals are to allow students to become life long learners, informed decision makers, and active citizens within their community. 

Key facts and the gathering of data, using multiple resources bring a better understanding of the events by historians and literary works of a period in time. By collecting multiple resources, the student moves from one perspective to another perspective, one story to another story; becoming closer to the truth of the actual event in history.   As a history teacher, I build upon past foundations of the people, places and events, using the ideas and concepts of the time period through the use of primary sources.  Students are able to engage in substantive conversation, using the Paideia seminar model.

 It is not only the gathering of data that is important as a historian, but the development of critical thinking skills and the ability to create a thesis statement, analyze content material, and draw a logical conclusion through the use of inductive or deductive reasoning. Students are able to become their own historians, understanding the impact of cause and effect and cycles over time. Students learn to become the critical thinker, obtaining their own valid view point according to the available source and/or sources.
                                
I believe that we can not use one strategy over another, that we need to incorporate a variety of strategies that are appropriate for the lesson and the learning activity.  We need a balance of the classroom lecture, the small group activity, the computer lab and the media center experience of the world of books, oral and written presentations, and guest speakers to engage students in the study of history. It is in telling the story that makes history come alive in the classroom.