Subject Matter Knowledge 

Throughout my education at Central Michigan University, I took several liberal arts classes. Prior to taking these classes, I did not have the knowledge on certain subjects that I do today. Correlating with Standard 1, the Libertarian Essay helped me "understand the tenets of a free, democratic, and pluralistic society." This essay includes a brief history about the Libertarian movement, basic principles, subgroups of the Libertarian party, misconceptions, and my personal reaction to the political party.  

During my journalism class (Racism and Diversity in the Mass Media), I attended many professional development events on the world of women, the election in 2008, and Affirmative Action. These events helped me to "understand and respect varying points of view and the influence of one’s own and others’ ethics and values." After taking this class, I felt that more classes during my time at Central should have included assignments that integrated into events on campus. It gave students coming from all backgrounds to hear different viewpoints on issues facing the campus, country, or the entire world. Also, these events gave me a very well rounded perspective on issues so that I could form a strong opinion without much bias.  

Lastly, the physical science experiment concerning gravity with a pendulum was completed during a summer class at Macomb Community College. It was wonderful to meet new people from the college, and with them, we had to conduct experiments that helped us "appreciate free inquiry in the physical sciences." I feel that with this knowledge, my ability to create lesson plans focusing on science will become a lot easier since science is not a strong subject of mine. The class taken at Macomb, Introduction to Physical Science, was a course that created many opportunities for independent work among group members to create a finished product. This technique created a positive working environment among my group.