EDTC 552 Initial Post

What visions and goals do you have for your career as a teacher, Technologist, Curriculum Designer? 

I have many goals as a teacher. I don't know if I can put them chronologically. But maybe that is okay because I think as an educator we have to be fluid in our approach and our understanding of what our students need. One goal I have is to make sure students learn from our past by using a lense of what is going on currently. History is a cyclical subject, thus making the age-old adage of "if we don't learn from our past we are doomed to repeat it" very true.  I believe learning more about education technology, and how technology can impact how we teach, is important because it offers me the best lense for how to best help my students in a future classroom. That is one of my biggest goals... to be able to constantly offer my students the best ways for them to learn and grow, not only in the history classroom but as citizens and individuals that can go out and make a difference in the world.

Introduce yourself to the class (provide some background information).

Well as you know I'm Josh. I grew up in Temple City, California and then went on to Azusa Pacific University where I graduated with a BA in Journalism. While at APU I met my wife, Chelsea, and we've been married a little over a year now. After college, we moved up to Spokane, Washington where I went on to work for the Spokesman-Review newspaper and then the local NBC affiliate running their sports website and contributing to the joint prep-sports website. Chelsea completed her MFA in Creative Writing at Eastern Washington University. While in Spokane I figured out that, while I love sports and loved covering teams and writing about them, I was much more interested in being a coach, a fan, and started to look into the idea of teaching (had we stayed I would've tried to get my credential at Gonzaga University). We moved back down a few years ago and after working a few odd jobs (construction, cook at a dive bar, freelancing) I took the CBEST, started coaching and subbing at Buena Park High School and began looking into credential/Master's programs. Now I am at La Habra High School doing the same and finishing up my credential and Master's I will begin student teaching this Spring.

Tell us something interesting about you!

This is a hard question. I guess something most people don't know (or assume) about me is that I am a Sci-Fi and Fantasy nerd. I love Star Wars, Star Trek, Stargate, etc. in all sorts of mediums. I am a big Lord of the Rings and J.R.R. Tolkien fan. I love Bernard Cornwell's Last Kingdom series of novels. And so, so much more.

What is your content area and or current position?

My content area is Social Science (History) and I am currently a substitute teacher and Varsity football coach at La Habra High School.

What are your career goals?

I want to be a career teacher and eventually a head football coach at a high school. I hope to one day maybe teach AP Euro or APUSH because I like the idea of being able to delve deeper into these subject matters with students (though that might not be attainable if I am fortunate enough to become a head coach).

What do you hope to learn in this class?

I hope I can learn how I can utilize technology and instructional design to impact and benefit my students. I like the model of learning from experts in the field and how we can take their experiences and apply them to the classroom ourselves to help our own students. I am excited to dive into these subjects and learn how to use this information and grow as an educator.

Knowing Your Why

Michael Jr.'s "Knowing Your Why?" YouTube video is a good bit of brain food and is something that I think is a good little refresher for teachers at all levels, especially those about to go into the field.

Michael Jr. means to give people a call to give purpose to what they are doing by knowing why they are doing it. When it comes to teaching, if we know why we want to be in the classroom, why we are called to educate, why we want to be in that room, then what we are doing becomes much easier and has a purpose driving it.

I like the example of the church choir director that sings from one of his crowds. When he first sings he is almost doing what is expected of him and it is nice, but feels rigid. But when he puts some sauce up on those chicken wings he calls his vocal pipes, well he brings the HEAT! When it comes to being in the classroom, if we as educators forget the why, then we will do good things for sure, and sure students might learn. But when we can remember the why and put that knowledge into what we are doing in the classroom... then we will be able to bring that same fire and passion into our students' lives and might be able to have a greater impact on them as both an educator and an advocate.

I love what he says right at the end.

"When you know your why, your what becomes more impactful because you're walking towards or in your purpose.

Here is Michael Jr.'s video on Knowing Your Why?

476 Introduction and Some Thoughts on Teaching History

Well hello there. As you can see in my bio to the right my name is Josh Ouellette and I am currently a single subject teaching credential and masters student at the University of La Verne.

My plan is to teach History, really the first subject in school that I ever loved, and the subject I am most passionate about. While I see how Government and Economics are important subjects, the courses I would prefer to teach would be World History and U.S. History. Though at the end of the day I realize I'll teach any part of the subject that my future employer hires me to do.

When it comes to History I think it is important to show students examples from what is going on in the world today because there is always a form of how this has happened before in the past. Meaning that if we can contextualize something from the past to a student's present they can draw a link to the past to help shape how they view their present and future. I know the old adage is, "if we don't know our past we are doomed to repeat it," or something along those lines. And while this is definitely true, I think we need to go to the next step of that because we always seem to be repeating our past because I think we as History educators need to do a better job making the past reality, instead of allowing subjects to stay in the past.

Are you sufficiently confused about some of my pedagogical history thoughts yet? I kind of am too. Hopefully in this course I will be able to hammer out my ideas and better shape them into something that is hardened, yet still malleable, in order to better serve my future students.

I am also a football coach, spending the last two years at Buena Park High School, and aspire to one day be a head coach at the high school level. I am an avid sports fan, Dodgers, West Ham, Titans, USC in no particular order, and I'm sorry if you have to be around me if one of my teams lost that day. I love to read, historical fiction is probably my current favorite genre, but I love fantasy, Sci-Fi, classic novels, Harry Potter (it's its own animal), and biographies. I also love TV shows. We live in the golden age of content for TV right now. Some of my favorite shows would be "Vikings" (yes, I wish I was and should be an extra on the show), "Sons of Anarchy," "The Office," "Peaky Blinders," and a long, long list of other shows that varies across genres and subjects just like the list above.

Well, that about does it for this post.

Thanks for stopping by. The Dude Abides.