This weekend I was struggling to create a Social Studies unit on the fur trade. I had too many ideas bouncing around in my head and was struggling to pull them together. I went to two of my brothers who are in high school to bounce some ideas off of them. I said to my brothers, “Basically I don’t want Social Studies to be boring or worksheets, but not being boring or using worksheets it hard!” My one brother responded by saying, “That sounds like a good teacher because that’s what Social Studies usually is.” Now I know that there is a time and a place for teachers to use worksheets because they can serve a purpose when they are meaningful. Learning on the other hand should never be boring! My brothers have had some awesome teachers and I know they have had meaningful learning experiences but we have all had boring experiences as well. I know as a teacher that my students will find lessons I teach boring, however, I want to fight against creating boring lessons and units. I also don’t want to get so caught up in trying to create fun, exciting learning experiences that my lessons lose a sense of purpose and direction. This is the struggle that I and many other new teachers are wrestling with.