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Introductory Post

Hello! I am Brienne, a middle school social studies teacher in Michigan. Growing up, I always wanted to be a teacher. It has been the only profession I ever saw myself in and now that I have been teaching for a few years, I am happy with the decision I have made. I graduated with my undergraduate degree in History Education from Michigan State University in 2016, along with a minor in Political Science and social studies endorsement. I completed my student teaching internship at Waterford Mott High School where I taught U.S. Government and A.P. Human Geography. I then taught for two years at Quincy Middle School where I taught eighth grade U.S. History. I am going to be starting a new teaching position at Avondale Middle School this fall where I will be teaching seventh-grade social studies. I am looking forward to starting a new curriculum and working with a diverse group of learners.

While I enjoy teaching history and building relationships with my students and colleagues, I also enjoy running, reading, and traveling. I am a long distance runner and most days after school, I am running. To this day, I have run nine half marathons and two full marathons. I also enjoy reading and tend to read a variety of books from historical fiction to biographies. I also love spending time traveling, whether that be throughout Michigan, as there are so many beautiful places to visit within driving distance, or as far as Massachusetts and Alaska. I love visiting places that hold a history that I can take back to my classroom and share with my students.

As a citizen, I believe that participation is important. I believe that being a participating citizen can take various forms, but what matters to me in a citizen, and something I share with my students, is the importance of participating in some form or another. I am personally motivated a citizen myself by citizens who participate in various ways, regardless of political beliefs and political leanings. Within my social studies curriculum, I share ways that any citizen can participate whether that be voting in a local election, signing a petition, running for office, or lobbying for laws that are of special importance. There are so many ways to participate that it is what is important to me as I teach young citizens of our country. I live out my beliefs of being a participating citizen by participating in various ways that I can then take back into my classroom. For example, when I vote in an election, I share with my students the process of going to my voting poll and what it is like to vote. I discuss the process of voting and answer questions they have about it as well. I share examples of others participating in ways, like petitioning and protesting. I also give my students real-world examples, like having them participate in mock trials so that they understand the process of the court system and the different roles that are a part of it. From living out an example of being an active and participating citizen to teaching my students the different ways to participate as a citizen, I model citizenship to my students and to the community as a whole.

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Comments

  1. Kyle GreenwaltJuly 6, 2019 at 3:06 PM

    Hi Bri,

    I am so excited to work with you again. It will be wonderful to hear, as I suspect I might, some of your teaching experiences. Also, I am so happy for you to have the chance to work in a different part of the state, closer to home, teaching that wonderfully big and crazy 7th grade curriculum!

    Participation is a good a bedrock for citizenship as any. We have way too many spectators in our society (and schools), so teaching conjoint doing is a pretty good way to go about things! Still, I can't help but wonder if your passions for reading and running and traveling are not also a form of participation in something bigger that you might also call citizenship. Perhaps this is something you might be interesting in puzzling out over the course of the semester? Connecting personal, professional and civic life seems to me something we are all called to do.

    Looking forward to the course!

    Kyle

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