“My Philosophy of Early Education”
Ever since I can remember all I have ever wanted to be is a teacher. I have always had a special way with children. I find it very easy to communicate with them and I enjoy spending time with them. Children have an extraordinary presence about them. Every time I spend time with a child I try to give them my best. Children have been and will be my priority for the rest of my life. I truly believe that the children are our future. I want to help them be the best they can be. Throughout the next year I plan to use my ideals in combination with professional methods to create an interesting and educational learning environment for my students.
I believe that education should be child centered. Learning is not about the teacher or adults, but about the children who are doing it. I feel the role of the teacher is to help her students. Each lesson and activity should reflect something that the child enjoys doing. There are some things that a teacher has to teach in order to meet the state standards but I feel that there is a way to make interesting and relate to the child.
Another essential role of the teacher to know their students. Before I can know my students, I need to know myself. One of the roles of the students is to be themselves and to know them selves. The teacher has to help them with this difficult task. I can only help my students do this by knowing myself. This may be difficult because I do not feel that I fully know myself at this point. Hopefully I will be able to know myself by the time I start teaching.
There have been a lot of people who have helped me become the person I am today. I have had experiences that have been life altering and they have helped me grow into whom I am. I believe that each child has had their own experiences that help make them who they are also. Every child has a story to tell. It is up to the teacher to help them tell it. I feel the teacher in the classroom should also encourage their students to be themselves, to be who they really are. I feel teachers are there to teach as well as learn from their students.
In a classroom setting there also has to be rights and responsibilities for both the teacher and the students. The first and foremost right and responsibility is respect. There has to be a mutual respect in the classroom before anything can be learned. In having respect in the classroom, you can create trust. Trust as I learned previously, is one of the most important aspects to have in a classroom. The students need to trust their teacher as well as each other. These aspects are what education is all about. It is about the children and the relationship they create between each other and with their teacher. If there is a good relationship, then learning comes naturally. I would do this by being honest with my students. I would show trust in them so in return they can trust me.
Learning occurs when the atmosphere is comfortable. When a child feels comfortable, they will want to engage in the lessons and activities. There has to be a level of intrigue among the students also. There are many effective techniques to help keep the attention of your students. One of the ways to make learning interesting is to use a different teaching style such as discovery learning. This makes the subject matter fun and interesting for the students. I believe when these techniques are used at the right times, students will respond appropriately. It is imperative for the children to fully understand the content of the lesson rather than just knowing the facts. They need to understand the background of the information so when they ask “why?” they know the answer. The students will gain an appreciation of knowledge in that subject.
The curriculum in the classroom has to include a variety of activities and subjective lesson plans. Each lesson should have more than one desired outcome. This is a difficult task but I hope to become proficient at it. By doing this you can teach more than one lesson during one activity. My goal is to teach the younger ages, preschool or kindergarten. The back-to-basics approach is necessary for some subjects such as reading, writing, and mathematics. Children need to start with the basics in order to progress. The basics are the first steps everyone takes when learning.
These days subject matter in the classroom is mandated. I feel it is the manner in which the teacher goes about teaching the lesson makes the difference. I feel the best way to fully learn and understand a concept is to have a hands on experience whenever possible. Hands on experiences in the classroom are key in educating young children. These types of lessons make the learning fun as well as memorable. I should know how they learn best and what makes the biggest impact on them. I want to be able to teach the material in the way I know my students will enjoy.
Never underestimate the power of a child's mind. They can come up with questions and inquisitions that we may never thought of. Their brains are forever growing and thinking. If you let them use it as much as possible, you will be shocked at what they are able to do
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