~♥My Philosophy♥~

My Philosophy of Education

My Philosophy of Education encompasses my many feelings, beliefs, values and learned ideals and best practices.  Children's growth and development is influenced by their genetics and by their environment.  I believe environment plays a bigger role in their development.  My job as a teacher is to discover what each individual child's own environment is like and to take this information into consideration in my teaching and classroom environment.  Children cannot always effectively communicate their needs and concerns.  I believe we were created with two ears and one mouth for a reason:  as a teacher, I hope to be a good listener so that I can gain understanding of what each child in my classroom is trying to communicate to me.  In order to be a good listener, I believe one has to have the personal characteristics of patience, love, kindness, empathy, compassion, and understanding.  Good communication skills are important for a teacher, because he or she needs to be able to effectively scaffold and guide children's learning throughout the day.  All children are different and should be treated as unique and special individuals; thus, I need to be aware of individualizing curriculum, be aware of any biases I may have, incorporate multicultural points of view in my teaching, and be educated in practices that allow children with special needs to be successful in my classroom.  I desire to treat each child with respect and dignity in order to promote self-esteem; give them choices in order to encourage independence and confidence; keep them actively involved so that they can enjoy learning and want to attend school; and develop a positive relationship with each child to give them the best outcome. 

Families play a major role in children's development and growth.  My job as a teacher is to get to know each child's family, the dynamics of that family, and how the family impacts the child.  With this knowledge, I can move forward with ways to work with families in helping them help their child in school.  I need to be certain to treat each family with respect, be sure to be a good listener (as they know their child best), and be able to communicate effectively with them and keep them informed. 

First impressions mean a lot.  When a child enters my room for the first time, I want them to feel that their new classroom is a fun, colorful, happy, and exciting place to be.  In order to achieve this, I need to be sure to have an organized room, with plenty of materials with which the children can play, learn and have fun.  I need to be sure it is a safe, clean environment.  I need to fill it with materials that allow them to learn using all of their senses, with plenty of hands-on toys and manipulatives, but not so much that it overwhelms them and clutters the room.  Interest areas are recommended to keep children interested and actively engaged, so I incorporate these areas into my classroom.  Finally, I will strive to ensure that every child in my classroom feels that he/she belongs there. 

As bullying is a major issue today, I hope to be alert to it happening in my classroom, and I feel it is extremely important to spend time teaching children the many benefits of encouraging, helping and uplifting each other, all the while serving as a role model myself of such positive behaviors.

A very important requirement of being a teacher is a knowledge of the standards and best practices and incorporating them into the curriculum daily.  I do believe that children learn best through play.  I have experienced this in raising my own children, particularly with a son diagnosed with ADD.  I aspire to keep my students actively engaged by providing them with a fun and interactive curriculum, and to limit time sitting at a desk working on worksheets (I like to use worksheets as reinforcement rather than as a main teaching tool).  I will strive to give students time to work with other students, in small groups and by themselves.  I feel it is important to act as a guide to a child's learning, not someone who forces learning upon them.  I believe that some rote learning needs to take place, but that learning through hands-on experiences will be what children will retain best and that they will be able to generalize information learned through hands-on activities. 

It seems the norm in schools of America today to assess children based on what they can sit and demonstrate at given points in time through testing.  I feel that the best form of assessment, however, is done through ongoing observations of a child.  Being ongoing means I will be able to assess a child at  different times throughout the year in order to gain a more realistic assessment of his/her strengths and weaknesses.  I know that having high expectations of a child and being able to express those expectations to the child will go a long way in the child having high expectations of himself or herself.  I will strive to expect the best from all of my students at all times regardless of what the reality looks like for a particular child.  Finally (and I do feel this is extremely important), if I can encourage and promote healthy social and emotional development in my students, I will consider myself a successful teacher.  Academics are so important, but if a child is not feeling self-worth, a sense of belonging, self-confidence, and worthiness, then, in the end, the academics will suffer.  I want to play a part in helping each child who comes through my doorway develop emotionally and socially so that they can go on to the next grade level feeling good about themselves and knowing what it takes to help others along the way.

In conclusion, I believe the role of a teacher is a vital one.  Children spend many hours each day in the classroom, and they need to be comfortable there and be able to enjoy a nice environment in which to learn.  My job is as follows:  stay knowledgeable about what the best practices are regarding children (this means ongoing education for myself, as there is always something more to learn and new research results); be humble and don't be afraid to ask questions, admit mistakes and learn from them, and be willing to listen to others who know more, and utilize their experience and advice; advocate for children and families (share what I know to help others); hold high expectations for children and families; and develop a positive relationship with every child I teach.