Hi everyone, my name is Zach Beelendorf and I'm a pre-service Social Studies teacher studying at the University of Northern Iowa. I am a junior, a transfer student from Southeastern Community College in Keokuk, IA, where I grew up. My desire to teach Social Studies has stemmed from a place of personal interest in different cultures and the histories of the countries of the world. I was homeschooled all throughout my K-12 years, and this allowed me to take time to do studies on my own. I developed a deep love for the study of the world and the people in it through a combination of classical literature and a stack of World Book encyclopedias. I read about every nation I could and found the understanding of other ways of life I gained to be of incredible value.
I began to consider teaching as I moved towards college. My original plans were to major in journalism, but as I began to look around at students who did not know that 1776 was the year our country became independent or who hated history because it was dry and boring, I was saddened. Social Studies have become highly devalued in our country; they have lost a place of precedence they once held. Studying musty old books about dead people is the general idea of what history is all about, and who wants to do that? Social Studies are often taught, it seems, in the same way they've always been taught, and treated as, at best, a second rate. I believe, however, in the value and importance of Social Studies. A careful study of culture, human behavior, and history helps us not only to understand groups foreign to our own, but also helps us to better understand ourselves, how we got where we are, and where we might be going. It also shows us how to be better citizens of our own country, how to make informed decisions when voting, and how to take our global citizenship in this modern, highly interconnected world seriously.
I want to be part of an awakening of a love for Social Studies in the next generation of students and I have great hope for the new wave of Social Studies educators who are rising up. I believe that we could be the group for whom high school students can finally say, "I love Social Studies" and "They are really enjoyable." But I don't just want my students to enjoy my class; I want them to walk away from it with a far better understanding and appreciation of the diverse world in which they live, and to be better and more informed members of the global community, because that is what Social Studies is really all about.
