Her eyes filled with enthusiasm, fear, and anticipation, Miss Martin walks into my classroom to begin her student-teacher experience. Fortunately, Miss Martin has no idea of the challenges ahead. The lessons that she must learn cannot be expressed with mere words and will not be taught by the teacher but by the students. A student teacher must learn that being a teacher is much more than demonstrating competency in a given number of courses. It is knowing how to live and learn; but more important, it is teaching others how to live and learn.

Every year for the past five years, the beginning of the school year for me has involved getting to know and understand a classroom of fourth graders and getting to know a new student intern who is acquiring a master's degree in teaching. Trying to convert twenty years of experience into bite-size bits of meaningful information to share with a perspective teacher is not an easy task. The most challenging part is explaining that teaching is more than the exchange of information and that teaching history is more than just teaching historical facts. In this article, I want to explore certain aspects of the profession to show what being a teacher of history involves.

CREATING A CLIMATECAN'T WE JUST ALL GET ALONG?During her first few days in the classroom, Miss Martin's objective is to become familiar with the students and the atmosphere of the classroom. Soon, as some of the children work in groups, she will have an opportunity to sense the classroom atmosphere. She must realize that establishing an atmosphere that promotes and accommodates learning is crucial. The students become a unit through their desire to achieve common goals and through their respect for each other. Attaining those objectives will not be easy, as the following examples illustrate:.

"Miss Martin, every time Mary walks bymy desk she touches my papers.""Sam tripped me!""Jenny is going, 'Goody, goody twoshoes. Make her stop.""Tiffany's papers are touching my desk,Miss Martin.""Miss Martin, I want to draw the body,but Becky said she has to. Jessica saidshe wanted to.".

A desperate look grips Miss Martin as she tries to sort out each conflict. "How can I get them to get along together? They won't stop arguing so we can get to the lesson.".

Group work that provides opportunities for learning through social interaction can prove very difficult. Before these students can learn through group work, they must develop their abilities for social interaction. Young people have to be taught how to respect others and their ideas. They need to learn the art of compromising and working together. More important, they need to learn how to respect themselves.

At the beginning of each school year, it is important to take the time to build a sense of trust and respect for each other within the framework of a community of learners working together. Although this is very fundamental and most teachers will agree that it is crucial to the success of the class, it is not always easily accomplished. Some activities that help to create an atmosphere that promotes learning include:.

1. Allowing students to contribute in the establishment of classroom rules and the consequences for violation of those rules.

2. Engaging students in the solution of conflicts to help them see alternatives to violence or actions that promote hostility or disagreements.

3. Modeling respectful behavior by being sensitive to the students' feelings.

4. Rewarding cooperation and appropriate interpersonal behavior with verbal praise and/or more opportunities to demonstrate responsibility.

5. Focusing on individual strengths and illustrating how they add value to the group as a whole (Make sure that all students are included.).

6. Holding classroom meetings to eliminate problems that develop because of a lack of communication (That also allows the students to voice their opinions and see that they are valued.).

7. Being consistent with the enforcement of the rules and the consequences.

If the members of a class have a voice in setting up the classroom, they claim ownership and take on the responsibility for its success because they have a vested interest. With time, the class will grow to appreciate their differences and realize the importance of all the members and the individual contributions they make to the class. When everyone has an equal opportunity to learn and share without fear of ridicule or reprimands, even the most challenging students will take the risk to learn and express ideas if an adequate support system has been put into place. Students sensing support recognize that their peers and teacher are there to make sure they do not fall (fail). Such support helps students to realize that they are valued as people and as learners.

INDIVIDUAL NEEDSONE SIZE DOES NOT FIT ALL.With great anticipation, Miss Martin proudly shares her lesson plans. After we review the plans, I make the following comments:.

I see you are teaching about the earlydevelopment of the United States as anation. Have you considered the perspec-tive with which you will present thisinformation? Are you considering thefeelings and needs of all the students inthis class? How will Joe feel, consideringhis background? Is Bobby going to beable to follow your teaching style? Youknow he has a learning disability. Haveyou planned how you will deal withBetty if she's had to stay up all nightagain becausFe of her alcoholic father?

The challenge for teachers, unrealistic as it is, has always been to meet all the needs of all the students all of the time. This means examining various learning styles, interests, talents, and personalities; it also means appreciating the students' backgrounds. Students bring to the classroom years of experiences in and out of school and, in addition, preconceived attitudes about themselves and others. Moreover, many more concepts will be cultivated during the school year and the years to come. The pivotal influence on the students' development will be their interaction with their teachers and others.

One way to help students learn about social studies and at the same time develop an appreciation for their own heritage is to begin the school year with a background research unit. Students are always excited and interested in learning about themselves. By planning an activity on the children's backgrounds, the teacher can encourage them to talk with relatives about their family's place of origin. After the students do research on that area, they can write a report and share the highlights with the class. For example: A student with German heritage will search for information about Germany and its people, learning about the geography and history of Germany and its accomplished citizens. Such an activity often sparks more detailed research. Students learn about themselves and their family's history. They come to understand how they are alike and how they are different from their classmates, developing self-esteem and appreciating their individuality.

From the beginning of the research project, the teacher's sensitivity to the needs of the students is essential. The teacher must be prepared to help those students from divorced homes for whom it may be more difficult to obtain information from both parents. Students who have been adopted and those who appear apprehensive about discovering more about their backgrounds will need sympathetic treatment from their teacher.

Varied learning styles must be addressed. Miss Martin can deal with this challenge by encouraging the students to take responsibility for their learning. When students are allowed to suggest how they want to demonstrate their new knowledge, they naturally select the styles that are the most comfortable for them. By permitting students to show their learning through their strongest modality, we help them to feel successful. If, for example, a student loves art and feels very capable in that area, then demonstrating his or her understanding of new concepts in history through art will result in the child feeling more confident and interested.

Active involvement in the learning will ensure that more processes are being used to gain new information. Using plays, music, art, and projects, as well as written reports, students can have a variety of methods that keep their interest and spark their curiosity while they report what they have learned. The students' individual needs are being considered and that will result in more learning.

RESPONSIBILITYIT'S NOT MY JOB!As Miss Martin begins her teaching career, she needs to be aware of the responsibility that she has to the profession and to the students. As an elementary school teacher, she will have a profound influence on the many young lives that she touches. Miss Martin may wonder:.

I think Josh got upset when he found outabout the Indians. He doesn't seem toreally understand. I don't know what todo. I can't do it all. Bobby never does hishomework. What am I to do if he hasproblems at home? I can't control every-thing. After all, it that really my job?

Fletcher (1993) cites Haim Ginott. "I have come to the frightening conclusion that I am the decisive element in the classroom. It's my personal approach that creates the climate. It's my daily mood that makes the weather. As a teacher, I possess tremendous power to make a child's life miserable or joyous. I can be a tool of torture or an instrument of inspiration. I can humiliate or humor, hurt or heal" (9). We, as teachers, must not trivialize the opportunity that we have to make that difference in the lives that we touch. Many of us fail to realize the powerful impact we can have on students. Sometimes, that impact is strong enough to influence how a student performs throughout his or her school career. It can also affect the child's attitude toward various subject areas as well as toward himself or herself. Because history is a subject that encourages students to identify with those aspects that represent their own heritage and culture, teachers must be sensitive to the needs of all students when exploring those facts. The manner in which that is approached can influence the overall impression that students gain about themselves and others.

Thornton (1991) discusses the responsibility that the teacher has as a "gatekeeper in social studies." Because teachers often have the power to practice their beliefs concerning the meaning of social studies and make decisions concerning planning and instructional strategies, the effectiveness of the teaching is truly in their hands. Despite having had opportunities to bring about a positive change in the instruction of social studies, teachers have not done so. If, however, teachers use their power in a productive way, there is hope.

TIMEWHAT DO YOU MEAN, YOU CAN'T DO IT ALL?After Miss Martin manages to secure more reference books and develop a wonderful lesson, she encounters another obstacle. She eagerly seeks help. "I only have 35 minutes to teach this lesson. That's not enough time. How will the children ever get to experience the learning and have enough time to discover?".

"Unfortunately, we have less than three and one-half hours per day of actual instructional time. Since math and reading are the areas that are tested on the standardized tests, they have a high priority," I respond.

When I interviewed other teachers about this problem, many explained that they do like history but feel so pressured by the testing of the "basic subjects" that history becomes less important. Consequently, when there is a limited amount of teaching time, teachers give those subject areas not being viewed as priority areas or areas to be tested the time that is left over at the end of the day. Unfortunately, there usually is no time left over.

For a teacher, time is a great enemy; conversely, it is a learner's greatest friend. It is only in spending time engaged in learning that students will make connections and grasp new insights. It requires time to stimulate an interest in history and get the students involved in the learning. Calkins (1994) discusses the "fragmented school day schedule" with respect to writing. She explains that between related arts, pullout programs, and the demanding curriculum, teachers are tested to see if they can make time for writing. It is not only for writing that teachers must make time; they must make time for history. That is not always easy. Determined teachers do set a time and make no concessions. In that way, they also set the example of putting a value on a particular subject. Students will follow the lead and come to appreciate that subject more.

Many teachers fail to realize that one of the biggest time savers is teaching through a thematic unit that allows for the integration of subject areas. History is the most versatile subject to use as a thematic unit. It readily extends itself into others areas of study. When studying a unit on Egypt, my students were quickly immersed in an in-depth study of biology through the study of mummification. The pyramids provided an interesting challenge for the study of geometry and math. As the students conducted research and took notes, we easily incorporated language skills into the study. The art of the Egyptians fascinated the students.

Teachers can quickly become frustrated by the demands of time. Using thematic units with history is an alternative that will help to alleviate some of that frustration and not take away from the instruction of history.

ATTITUDESEVERYBODY LOVES A CLOWN, BUT NO ONE LOVES HISTORY.While Miss Martin and I are getting to know each other, she hesitantly reveals her reservations about teaching social studies. Miss Martin, not unlike many student teachers, has negative feelings about history. A study that has recently been conducted by Frazier and Wise (1996, unpublished) concluded that when student teachers were asked about teaching social studies, many expressed concerns. Their fears stemmed from the thought of teaching in an area (social studies) that they not only disliked but also felt insecure about teaching.

Thornton (1991) reported that student teachers ranked social studies very low on their priority list of subjects to teach. He cites Goodman and Adler who reported that teachers teach social studies in the afternoon, if they have some time to kill. They might show a filmstrip or movie on some social studies topic. Teachers they studied recognized that they should do more, but felt they had no time.

From one fourth-grade class I surveyed, I learned that a majority of the students did not like history. When teachers in one elementary school were interviewed, many were found either not to like history or not to like teaching it. The reasons for their feelings varied but included bad previous experiences (early learning), lifeless texts, low priority, and too little time.

Negative attitudes toward history are not new. Solutions, however, must involve new approaches to be successful. Districts and state departments must realize the value of history and include it on standardized tests. They must promote better teaching strategies through more teacher training and incentives that encourage teachers to go beyond the traditional methods and attitudes to stimulate an interest in learning history. Students must be drawn in through experiences that allow them the chance to appreciate history. Providing opportunities that involve the students in the learning will help them to realize history's relevance and meaning. Capturing history through plays, poetry, artifacts, films, field studies, art, and music makes it come alive for the students.

By their choice, my fourth-grade class began a study of Egypt. Their initial interest stemmed from mummies. Upon further examination, the class discovered that to understand the information about Egyptian mummies, they needed to understand the religion, land, people, and history of Egypt. Not only was their learning far more extensive than I had planned, but the motivation was there without my intervention. Students collected quantities of facts. The overall results were far better than they might have been if the students had been required to learn a given body of information.

Many may ask how the curriculum guidelines that are imposed on teachers can be followed if students are allowed to pursue their interests in their studies. Students can be given choices within a given framework. As a fourth-grade teacher, I am responsible for my students' obtaining a firm understanding of the United States, its history and geography. Within that framework, students are given the freedom to select what interests them. Once in the fall and spring, I allow the students the freedom to select any topic for study, either inside or outside the United States.

Students will be more excited about learning if they are given opportunities to demonstrate their new-found knowledge in various ways. Authentic assessment allows students to use various methods and techniques that generate interest and promote learning. At the moment, students in my class are being encouraged to select ways to show their understanding of new concepts. They can do projects, written reports, plays, musicals, poems, oral presentations, or illustrations. When learning about the Revolutionary War, several students chose to make clay models of key symbols or persons. Then, they explained their projects to the class. Far more information was shared than I had hoped.

TEXTBOOKSWHERE'S THE BEEF?With her first lesson, Miss Martin will have an opportunity to demonstrate her teaching ability. She approaches me with her lesson plans and voices her concern, "There is so little information in the book about outstanding Americans during this time period. The information that is provided seems biased. What am I going to do?".

Several articles have been published discussing the perspective with which textbook authors have written history and the recent development of the national history standards (White 1988; Kon 1995; Epstein 1994). White (1988) explained that many of the authors in Theory and Research in Social Education generally agreed that the books used during the last decade have been, "biased, bland, superficial and dull." The reactions of the students in my history classes seem to indicate that that assessment is correct. Also, from my observations, I have concluded that the textbooks are written at a higher level of understanding than most students can attain and that some of the concepts presented are ones that the students are not developmentally able to appreciate or comprehend. McKeown and Beck (1994) wrote that the relationship between what the authors of history textbooks think the students know and their actual knowledge is decisively different. Because of that difference and the lack of a knowledge base in history, students fail to grasp the new knowledge and retain its full meaning.

A solution to problems with a textbook is to use good literature and a variety of references. Levstik (1990) strongly encouraged the use of literature to help students better understand social studies. She suggested that teachers consider the literary merit and accuracy of content when selecting literature. Allowing the students to appreciate the voices of diverse peoples and different viewpoints is also important. According to Levstik, literature should be used as a historical source, to be analyzed for a point of view, perspectives, and inaccuracies.

By providing the students with several sources for new information, teachers enable them to view an event from different perspectives and recognize the theme that is consistently present in all sources. When I interviewed several teachers of history who are viewed by their peers as effective teachers, they stated that they used several sources in addition to the textbook for their history instruction.

EXPERTISE IN THE AREAMR. KNOWZIT, OR KNOW-IT-ALLS.Miss Martin explains that her college courses in history instruction were very limited and that she realizes she has limited knowledge of the material she had planned to teach. Because of that, she had began to conduct her own research to gain as much information as she could. More important, she learned that it was acceptable not to know everything but that it is imperative that she know how to find the information.

Researchers have found that some teachers are not excited about teaching history because they feel insecure about their own knowledge of subject (McKeown and Beck 1994). Teachers who as students were uninterested in history often failed to attain sufficient historical knowledge. Consequently, as teachers, they are less confident and proficient. In addition, McKeown and Beck found that elementary-school teachers tended to rely more heavily on the textbook as the main source of information because of their insecurities as specialists in that area. As a result, their students are exposed to a more limited view than they would have obtained from broader study.

In our dynamic, technologically advanced world, knowledge will continue to increase at a very rapid rate, making it impossible for teachers to be all-knowledgeable. We teachers must be lifelong learners, demonstrating to our students how to be expert researchers and information managers.

TEACHINGSO, HAS MISS MARTIN LEARNED HER LESSON?Miss Martin remarks, "I never realized you had to make so many decisions in one day. How can you get everything done? The students are so active. They don't seem to know how to listen very well, but they did do a really good job with the research!".

It has been said that those who fail to learn from the mistakes of history are doomed to repeat them. As teachers of history, we must look at our past to learn from our mistakes and prepare ourselves for the future. The manner in which we teach history has changed very little in the past twenty years (Cuban 1991). It was not effective then; it is even less effective today. Our fast-paced society demands a different approach. So do our students. As we make changes, we must remember that we have the power to make choices in our classrooms that will determine how students view themselves and others, as well as how they view learning. The most important aspect of teaching history involves those decisions and the choices we make. Whether we are deciding on a learning style, discipline, curriculum, methods, morals, or what is factual, we must remember that we are influencing others.

In today's classrooms, teachers must overcome many obstacles to create an atmosphere in which learning can occur. Establishing trust, understanding the students, managing discipline, thoroughly grasping the curriculum, staying abreast of the latest research, dealing with the demands of the parents and administrators, and being an expert in maximizing time and resources are some of teacher's necessary goals in the quest for learning. With their students, history teachers must also confront the difficult, controversial issues that directly reflect the problems in our society.

Miss Martin has finished the easiest part of her teaching--her student teaching. Now she begins the hard part of learning how to be an effective teacher. It is in the experience of teaching that true educators are made, and it is the decisions they make along the way that will determine the kind of teachers they become. Through those experiences, Miss Martin will learn that being a teacher of history is more than just teaching history.

Added material.

DORIS L. HAWKINS teaches the fourth grade at White Knoll Elementary School in Lexington, South Carolina, and serves as a clinical adjunct for the University of South Carolina, working with those studying for a master's of arts degree in teaching.

REFERENCESBeck, I., and M. McKeown. 1994. Making sense of accounts of history: Why young students don't and how they might. In Teaching and learning in history, edited by G. Leinhardt, I. Beck, and C. Stainton. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum.

Calkins, L. M. 1994. The art of teaching rriting. 2nd ed. Portsmouth, N. H.: Heinemann.

Cuban, L. 1991. History of teaching in social studies. In Handbook of research on social studies teaching and learning, edited by J. P. Shaver. New York: Macmillan.

Epstein, T. L. 1994. Tales from two textbooks: A comparison of the civil rights movement in two secondary history textbooks. The Social Studies 85(3): 117-120.

Fletcher, R. J. 1993. What a writer needs. Portsmouth, N.H.: Heinemann.

Frazier, J., and S. Wise. 1996. Like it or not: The making of a social studies teacher. Unpublished Paper.

Kon, J. H. 1995. Teachers' curricular decision making in response to a new social studies textbook. Theory & Research in Social Education. 23(2): 21-146.

Levstik, L. S. 1990. From the outside in: American children's literature from 1920-1940. Theory & Research in Social Education. 18(4): 327-29.

Levstik, L. S., and C. C. Pappas. 1992. New directions for studying historical understanding. Theory & Research in Social Education. 20(4): 369-81.

Lockwood, A. L. 1996. Controversial issues: The teacher's crucial role. Social Education. 60(1): 28-31.

Thornton, S. J. 1991. Teacher as curricular-instructional gatekeeper in social studies. In Handbook of research on social studies teaching and learning, edited by J. P. Shaver. New York: Macmillan.

White, J. J. 1988. Searching for substantial knowledge in social studies texts. Theory and Research in Social Education. 16(2): 11-40.