Teaching Philosophy I believe that all students regardless of race, ethnicity, socio-economic status, or any other dassification deserve a quality education; an education that allows them to discover themselves, their strengths and weaknesses, and learn and prepare for the real world. As a future instructor of the Social Sciences, my philosophy includes encouraging individual thought and creativity in the dassroom. In effect, this encourages students to become critical thinkers, effective communicators, life-long learners, global citizens, and creative and self-expressive individuals. The most important skill for my students is to become critical thinkers. I want my students to be able to differentiate between fact and opinion, analyze and interpret collected information, draw logical condusions, as well as apply appropriate strategies to solve complex problems in a variety of contexts. Tam an educator, not only to teach social sciences to my students, but to be a positive role model and to help them develop mentally, socially, and emotionally. My approach to teaching is rooted in the fact that I want my dassroom to be a place where students’ individual ideas and talents contribute to an overall group focus on working together. A dassroom community that expresses pride, commitment, and goal achievement is important and it is my ambition to prepare students for their role as citizens and decision makers in a diverse and democratic community. The foundation for effective learning is developing and fostering students’ social and emotional learning. 1 aspire to teach, guide, and empower students across this foundation. I care about my students as people and I feel it is important to develop every student's character to be respectful, caring, honest, fair, and a good citizen. My passion for Social Science lies in the fact that the curriculum experienced and the skills developed in Social Science classes are found in virtually every career pathway students choose. The discussions, arguments, forward thinking, problem solving, writing skills, and real world applications are just some of the ways students may use Social Sciences in their daily lives and future careers. Part of creating career and college ready students is to prepare students for effective use of current technology. Regardless of the given career or college path, students will be required to utilize electronic communication, as it is inevitable that today’s society is driven and shaped by the evolution of technology. By utilizing technology, my students will be driven, active, and contemporary learners. At the root of my teaching approach lies the passion and excitement I have for my subject that is demonstrated to my students each day when they enter my classroom. It is my belief that the core values that a teacher should possess is to inspire, reflect and serve the needs of the students. In sum, I am an educator that is capable of ‘communicating this passion to my students through everyday interaction with each student through managing the flow of my lessons and of my classroom. Ashleigh Hampton