For the Love of History: Transforming Passion to Good Teaching!

This paper will examine the ways that one history teacher’s pedagogy has transformed since her introduction to the World History Program at the University of California, Irvine in 2005.  The paper will begin with her own story as a young educator.  As a passionate teacher of history, Ms. Amaya’s goal was to inspire students to seek answers and wisdom from those who lived before us.  This was an honest and wishful way to begin a career.  Despite some success, this approach was not enough to sustain a teacher through the turbulence of federal legislation, budget cuts, discipline issues, and a sea of apathetic teenagers.  This paper will examine the direct impact the World History Institute philosophy has had in one teacher’s classroom.  The paper will document Ms. Amaya’s increased involvement with the History Project and how her approach to teaching history has changed in a positive way.  The paper will focus on the collaborative pedagogical strategies and philosophies the History Project believes in and how this can be beneficial to all history teachers.