Amaris White

Teaching Philosophy

Important Skills I Want to Teach My Students

The most important skills that I teach students are objective thinking, critical thinking, argumentation, and advocacy. Students need to be able to objectively and critically grapple with both historic and contemporary sources in order to use evidence to successfully advocate for the topics and issues they value. By helping them develop their speaking, writing, and critical thinking skills, I am hopefully fostering the growth of well-informed life-long learners.  

Teaching Methods to Reach these Goals

My classes rely heavily on peer interactions, reflection assignments, and opportunities like debates for students to present and defend their arguments. I encourage students to work in groups and explore the complexities of the readings or topics we cover in class and challenge each other to think deeply about the historical realities of specific periods. Students also have a number of opportunities to use their written work to challenge dominate historical narratives and craft essay responses that explore the various usages of primary sources.

My Favorite Projects

I enjoy our Women Abolitionist Project, a project in which students explore the abolitionist efforts of a racially and socioeconomically diverse set of abolitionist women in order to identify the significance of grassroots movements and some of the challenges they often face. Another project that students enjoy is creating their own podcasts and sharing them with their classmates. This gives students a chance to identify topics of interest and engage in primary source research.

What I Like Best About Teaching at Seven Hills

I appreciate the freedom and autonomy that Seven Hills teachers are given to creatively engage students and thoughtfully explore concepts. However, what I value most are our inquisitive, thoughtful, and eager students. Their thirst for knowledge challenges me to always be my best and also find new and innovative ways to enhance my pedagogical practices.