History teacher Steven Peters and his wife, Emily
Many of our Muirlands teachers “walk the talk” when it comes to life-long learning. Some continue to be both teachers and students in their fields of expertise. For example, currently in his seventh year of teaching history to 7th & 8th grade Muirlands students, Steven Peters is also pursuing a Master’s Degree in History. Through a program offered 100% online using audio/video chat programs such as voicethread.com and youtube.com, as well as more “traditional” text based discussion boards, Mr. Peters is working toward his M.A. from the University of Nebraska.
There is no doubt that my master’s program has helped me to see and teach history in a different light. For the most part undergraduate history is about facts, theories, and cause and effect. At the graduate level the focus is Historiography, which, in short, is the study of how history is understood throughout time. By studying Historiography one sees how the facts of history can remain the same, however the way those facts are interpreted can and does change over time. Thus our understanding of the past changes as time and society move on. This impacts my teaching because not only do I want to teach the factual aspects of history but I also want to teach my students the skills that are involved in the processes of historical inquiry and historical interpretation. – Steven Peters
Mr. Peters describes the program at the University of Nebraska as both challenging and rewarding. “Being a student again was only really difficult for the first semester. Remembering how to write a significant research paper of 25 pages or more was the biggest challenge at first” Mr. Peters says. “After that first semester the greatest challenge has been time management with work, studies and family.”
Mr. Peters earned his Bachelor’s Degrees in History and Political Science, as well as an M.A. in Secondary Education from Ball State University in Indiana. He is on track to complete this second M.A. Degree in May 2015.
