Academics Teachers

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Brendan Earle, Social Studies brendan.earle@artswestschool.org
	Brendan Earle is a social studies teacher from California. His Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science is from San Jose State University; his Master of Arts degree in Political Science is from the University of California, Davis; and his secondary education credential in social science comes from San Francisco State University. His teaching background includes College Preparatory US History, Advanced Placement World History, Honors Geography, College Prep Geography, and International Relations. He has also worked as a teaching assistant and research assistant at the University of California, Davis.
PHILOSOPHY Learning is participatory not passive. Students will reach their greatest potential in the classroom and as lifelong learners when they are actively involved and responsible for their education. A teacher ought to act as a facilitator, determining goals for the students to reach. However, it is incumbent upon the students and teacher to work in concert to reach this end. In order for true learning to take place, a teacher must create an effective classroom climate. This is accomplished through appropriate classroom management techniques, clear, relevant, well articulated objectives for students, challenging material, and stimulating discussions and projects. With students and teachers both striving to expand their knowledge, skills, and to reach their full potential, incredible results can be achieved.
Program Is global warming real, and if so is it a threat? This question is current, controversial and rich in its ability to stimulate creative thinking and analytic skills. It is also on the lips of many politicians, Hollywood elites and political pundits. In my class students will have the opportunity to take a reasoned stand on this issue. Students will conduct individual and group research, develop an argument, give and receive reviews of peer work, craft a well organized speech, and perform their speech for the class, and perhaps beyond the classroom. All the while students will be receiving progress monitoring and guidance while discovering ways to sharpen their reasoning, research, and rhetorical skills. At the completion of this program students will not only have mastered subject matter content, they will have gained lifelong skills and fashioned a work of which they will be genuinely proud. Global warming is just one of the topics that will be addressed in the social science curriculum. Students in my classes can look forward confronting timely issues and developing their own understanding of current controversies, as well as timeless questions, in a wide variety of formats, activities and assessments in order to guide them in becoming critical, caring and judicious citizens.