Introductory Post

My name is Shanna Robinson and I am a second generation, fifteen to twenty year (depending on if you count certain jobs or not) Social Studies teacher from Lansing, Michigan.  I am currently teaching in China – I was just named the Social Studies Head of Department for The Barstow School, Ningbo Campus and will be teaching AP US History, US History and something else in the next school year.  Currently, I am an EAP teacher for Teesside University in the United Kingdom – I assist Chinese students in getting their IELTS Bands up so they can qualify for a visa.  

I have taught social studies in a variety of different areas, locales and to students of all grade levels.  My first teaching assignment was in rural Edenton, North Carolina – which was segreagated along a railroad track and the students were allowed to proudly display Confederate paraphernalia.  I have taught in Seoul, South Korea (about twenty years ago now!) English as a Second Language. I have taught Middle School (the agony, the torture) and I have taught Alternative Education, Special Education and at my rival high school, Sexton High School (I went to Everett!), in an “urban” setting, the Lansing School District.   That was interesting to see my life come full circle.

My mother was a history teacher at Everett High School (she retired last year) and I always say that my love of teaching, learning, and History come from her.  Not only did I learn history through osmosis while in the womb, but (and I promise this is a true story!) my mother also had me grade papers for her as soon as I learned my alphabet and could distinguish the letters up to D from one another.  When I learned how to read, I would read the questions on the test and ask her the answers until she told me to shut up and finish grading.   From there, my love of history was born.  It is innate.  It is natural.  It is So, this is the one major distinction between my mother and I – She is a history teacher; I am a historian that teaches.  

Everything I do, in life, in my personal life, in my professional life, is dedicated to the facilitation of learning.  Everything I do in the classroom; everything I teach my students, is to make them better global citizens.  I live in China where I have to be EXTREMLEY careful about what I say and I do, lest I corrupt the minds of the students with radical thoughts.  That does NOT mean I don’t try.  I don’t mean in the ways of the forbidden three (Tianammen, Taiwan, and Tibet by the by), but in the ways of critical thinking and avoiding group think.  It is mindboggling to me often, especially here, the different ways that thinking and learning is encouraged and nurtured.   Here, testing and route memory are the norm – the students just want to memorize information and not extend themselves out to Project Based Learning.  But my students thrive with those kinds of projects.  While I have some phenomenal students, I also have some students that have been left in the wayside.  Their English is weak, they feel overwhelmed and pressured, and they feel left out by the educational system.  These are my favorite students.  I teach for more than tests.  I teach for my student’s life beyond getting into a good college.