Christopher Carlsmith

UMass Lowell History Dept.

Philosophy of Teaching[1]

            My commitment to the craft of teaching began in earnest in 1986, when I started teaching at independent secondary schools in New England.  I taught History, Humanities, and English, I coached soccer, tennis, and crew, and I served as a dorm parent.  In 1989 I moved to a prep school in Switzerland, where in addition to the responsibilities listed above, I led field trips, directed the residential life program, and chaired the History Department.  In 1993 I enrolled in graduate school at the University of Virginia, where I worked at the Teaching Resource Center, served as an Instructor and Teaching Assistant, and conducted research on the history of education.  In 1999 I completed my dissertation and temporarily returned to secondary school before teaching at UMass Boston and Stanford University.  While the subject matter and the audience have varied, the common element in all of these activities has been the act of teaching.  Teaching--in all its guises and myriad forms--holds a fascination for me that I cannot easily explain.  I derive great satisfaction from that moment when a student's eyes light up in understanding, or when a colleague and I discuss a particularly effective teaching technique or activity.  I enjoy guiding others toward the acquisition of a new skill or the mastery of a difficult concept, just as I appreciate others who can teach me in turn.

            My educational philosophy is firmly grounded in five fundamental principles that I believe to be essential for good teaching:  enthusiasm, creativity, clarity, rigor, and professionalism.  I love to teach, and my passion for the classroom and for the study of History is reflected in the care with which I prepare for class and the importance I assign to classroom activities.  I openly display my excitement to my students, encouraging them to abandon the jaded ennui that many of them have adopted.  One UVA student commented, "It's unbelievable how much time and energy he pours into this course. . . " while another praised the "atmosphere of contagious enthusiasm that Chris generates in our class."  I relish the challenge of devising innovative ways to convey information to students, and strive to include a wide variety of activities in my classroom, including use of information technology and the World Wide Web.  My classes include role plays, pair-shares, structured debates, and even a one-man skit about the Reformation, while written assignments  encompass one-minute papers, imaginary letters, expository essays, and historical dialogues. 

            Clarity in spoken and written expression is an important aspect of my teaching; I regularly distribute outlines of my lectures or slide shows, written instructions for the next assignment, or sample answers from a previous test.  To ensure that students are following the broad outline of the lesson, I frequently utilize the blackboard or overhead projector for key ideas or vocabulary words.  Through individual conferences and multiple drafts, I teach my students to write and speak as clearly and concisely as possible.  My high school students commented that my History classes were "like being in college," and my students at UVA and UMass Boston regularly praised my instruction as "challenging" and "demanding."  I insist upon in-class participation, for example, but I am frequently available to advise students about how to prepare and present their ideas.  Lastly, I adopt a "professional" approach to my teaching.  This does not mean wearing a tie or addressing students by their surname; rather, it means that I learn students' names early in the semester, I do not play favorites, and I listen carefully to their ideas and questions.  I am always prepared for class, and I expect the same of my students.

            I believe that students enjoy studying History when they can see a direct connection between their own experiences and those in the past.  Therefore I strive to show them how Renaissance Florence or Republican Rome directly influenced our modern political system or our conception of art history.  A brief tour of the UVA campus helped my students to recognize the legacy of Palladio and Cicero in their own university, just as inclusion of Swiss history in my AP European History course at TASIS helped my students to appreciate that country's unique role in European diplomacy.  I remind them that History is a "relevant" subject not only because of the lessons to be learned from the past, but also because of the practical skills that the study of History can convey (i.e., analytical research, acquisition of another language).  I encourage my students to see History as a series of problems that had to be solved by our predecessors, and I remind them that many of these issues continue to be relevant in our own society.  Framed in this manner, students suddenly see the past as far more than a series of dusty dates to be memorized. 

            My dissertation, a study of schooling and society in Italy during the Renaissance and the Catholic Reformation, has permitted me to think carefully about pedagogy, curriculum, and teacher training in both the past and the present.  I am surprised, and sometimes flabbergasted, by the parallels between education in sixteenth-century Italy and late twentieth-century America.  Cardinal Carlo Borromeo, for example, reminded priests and laymen in the diocese of Milan in the 1570s that they must always tailor their instruction of children to match the child's ability and interests.  During the same era, the Jesuits began founding schools throughout Italy which prohibited corporal punishment and insisted on mastery of certain texts or concepts before students could be promoted to the next level.  The city of Bergamo, in its efforts to maintain public schools between 1450 and 1650, experimented both with managing the schools itself and with contracting out the responsibility to private organizations.  "Age-appropriate education," prohibition of corporal punishment, social promotion vs. mastery of skills, privatization, and the role of public education: it is striking how often the same issues recur.

revised September 2000