First post!

Hi everyone!  Welcome to my blog.  My name is Emily and I am starting the PGCE in Secondary History 2011/2012 at The University of Leicester. 

I thought I’d use this first post to give a little information about myself and why I’ve decided to take on this (somewhat scary looking!) course.  I’m just finishing an MA in Humanities and Art History at the moment after graduating last year with a BA in History of Art, both also taken at the University of Leicester.  One of the main things which I learnt from my degree was that through art and other primary sources, we can gain vast amounts of information about past cultures and societies.  I want to prove how history is not just a ‘boring pile of facts’ or a list of dates which need to be memorised, but can become almost tangible to students if taught in enthusiastic and imaginative ways.  Some of my most influential teachers viewed history in this way and they managed to excite in me a passion for history which I hope to pass on to my own students.

I am hoping to use my blog to build up my subject knowledge over the Summer and build ideas of how to teach certain subjects during my placements.  The areas which I aim to cover in preparation for the PGCE are primarily Medieval and Norman England, and Soviet Russia.  Wish me luck!