“Be the change you want to see in the world.” Mahatma Gandhi
About Me
My name is Melissa Seideman. I have been teaching for ten years in both New York and Pennsylvania. I have experience teaching U.S. History (7th, 8th, and 11th grade), Economics, AP Government and Politics, Global II, Sociology, and U.S. History through Film.
I grew up in Boonton, New Jersey. I received a Bachelor's Degree in Social Studies Education at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York. While teaching full-time in both Geneva, NY and Trumansburg, NY I earned my Master’s Degree in Inclusive Special Education at the University of New England. My husband and I live in Poughkeepsie, NY with our two boys and two rescue dogs.
I grew up in Boonton, New Jersey. I received a Bachelor's Degree in Social Studies Education at Ithaca College in Ithaca, New York. While teaching full-time in both Geneva, NY and Trumansburg, NY I earned my Master’s Degree in Inclusive Special Education at the University of New England. My husband and I live in Poughkeepsie, NY with our two boys and two rescue dogs.
A Glimpse into My Classroom
My Educational Philosophy
Teaching is one of the most rewarding and challenging career paths a person can follow. It involves establishing and maintaining trust and rapport, clear lines of communication, and a lasting agreement between the teacher and students, colleagues, families, and community members. Clearly social studies content is critical, but the larger challenge involves creating lessons that are as stimulating as they are educational.
Connecting the students to the content has become my passion. My goal is to help my students fall in love with history and technology the way I have. I believe that technology reaches students in a way that other mediums cannot. It ignites a fire, a desire to learn, and gives them the ability to express themselves in meaningful ways.
My history education philosophy is simple: Without understanding and thinking about history, our future is bleak. So many great challenges confront us and the tools we need to meet these challenges are present in the past. No people, no country, overcame the powerful elements of racism, sexism, intolerance, poverty, and crime without understanding how and why these elements were born. No people or country that strives to progress technologically, economically, politically, or socially can do so while being ignorant of what has been tried, what has failed and succeeded, and why. In short, to understand and know ourselves now and in the future we must fully realize our past. This is what history is all about.
Connecting the students to the content has become my passion. My goal is to help my students fall in love with history and technology the way I have. I believe that technology reaches students in a way that other mediums cannot. It ignites a fire, a desire to learn, and gives them the ability to express themselves in meaningful ways.
My history education philosophy is simple: Without understanding and thinking about history, our future is bleak. So many great challenges confront us and the tools we need to meet these challenges are present in the past. No people, no country, overcame the powerful elements of racism, sexism, intolerance, poverty, and crime without understanding how and why these elements were born. No people or country that strives to progress technologically, economically, politically, or socially can do so while being ignorant of what has been tried, what has failed and succeeded, and why. In short, to understand and know ourselves now and in the future we must fully realize our past. This is what history is all about.