My Role As An Educator

My philosophy of Early childhood education is based on research that indicates that a child’s growth is developmental. Every child is unique in terms of life experiences, developmental readiness, and cultural heritage. A high quality early childhood program that provides a safe and nurturing environment, which promotes physical, social, emotional, language and cognitive development will ensure a positive continuation of the child’s education process. The National Association for the Education of Young Children states that high quality, developmentally appropriate programs should be available for all children. Bredekamp, S., and T. Rosegrant. 1992. Reaching Potentials: Introduction.

The image of the child is that the child has rights. Hewitt (2001) quoted that Loris Malaguzzi, the creator of the methodology taught in Reggio Emilia stated “If children had legitimate rights, then they also should have opportunities to develop their intelligence and to be made ready for success that would not, and should not, escape them.” (p. 96) It is agreed that the child has rights more than “simply needs.” The child also possesses strength, competence, and potential. This shows that the child is the initiator in their own education and knowledge. Katz believes that “the child is viewed not as a target of instruction, but rather as having the active role of an apprentice. (Qtd Hewitt, p. 96) In Hewiit, Malaguzzi is influenced by Jean

In early childhood settings, theorist play a critical role in the developing and implementing the programs’ philosophy. Our program integrates theories of development on how children learn by designing the environment and makes it meaningful to the child. Our approach to learning derives from early childhood theorist that include, Piaget, Dewey, and Erikson. These theorists allow us to develop an understanding on the importance of providing learning opportunities for children, where children can processes learning with rich experiences in their environment.

I believe that the first 5 years in a child’s life are the most important. They are the building blocks for their learning. Experiences, children should be interwoven through all developmental domains, physical, social, language, emotional and cognitive, being able to build on their learning experiences in a safe, inviting and engaging environment. Children at their first teachers (REGGIO), they are capable and confidant learners and children should be able to bring their own ideas into their learning. Through discussions and observations I believe that each child will feel valued and have a pro-active involvement within the programming each day.

I think that one of the most challenging aspects of the Reggio Emilia approach is the solicitation of multiple points of view regarding children's needs, interests, and abilities, and the mutual faith in parents, teachers, and children to contribute in meaningful ways to the determination of school

Waldorf and Reggio Emilia Approach are agreed with learning through play but the both adopted different teaching techniques. Both the approaches view the children as active authors of their own development, strongly influenced by natural dynamic self-driven force within themselves, opening the way toward growth and learning. According to Dr. Judit Falk “when children play and move freely in activities responsibly undertaken on their own, they experience opportunities to learn which cannot be simulated and for which there is no

This paper will explore Maria Montessori and her theories on early childhood education. Using information that I find online and through the Introduction to ECE textbook, I will create an organized research report describing how and why Maria Montessori has had such a huge impact on early childhood education today. After furthering my knowledge with research on Maria Montessori, I will apply her theory and philosophy to my future career or life values.

The reading that I felt was the most important for me in both my current role as a PE/Health teacher and in my future role as a possible administrator is “Moving up from Mediocre.” I am going to explain first, why I feel this reading is important and necessary in my current role as a teacher and second, why I believe this is essential for me if I am going to be a successful administrator. ‘PLC’s offer a guiding framework within which district staff learn together and collaborate to improve the achievement of all students” (Curriculum Leadership, pg. 290, 2014.) I really enjoyed reading about School District 54 in Schaumburg, Illinois and the great success that the PLC changes has made for them and their efforts to improve student achievement. One of the great takeaways from the reading for me was the emphasis that they made on leadership from the administration level and how that has really paved the way for the turnaround.

The Reggio Emilia approach creates a caring community of learners through provocation; a challenge to think and wonder (p. 60). The teachers encourage the children to create projects based on their interests. For example, a well known Reggio project was created after a teacher purposely challenged the children to be creative. The project started from a life-size giraffe puppet and ended with a portrait of the lion statues in the town plaza. Teachers use documentation to learn more about the children, curriculum planning, teacher development, and connecting with families and communities. This allows teachers to be more prepared and have the ability to enhance development and learning. The systematic study approach also helps assess the children’s development needs and learning challenges. Teachers plan curriculums based on current interests, experiences and/or important goals the children want to achieve. Another main focus is documenting progress through photographs, transcriptions, and display for the children and family members to appreciate and examine. It helps establish a relationship with not only the children and their work, but also for the teachers and family members (p. 60).

Maria Montessori was an educational philosopher acclaimed for her child-centered education method that primarily focused on children’s natural ability to learn information through the stages of development. Because her method was centered around children, Montessori believed that the classroom environment and materials must be designed to foster children’s natural desire to discover information within their environment (Society, 2016; Pendleton, 2015). According to Northwest (2015), the guiding principles that were the framework of the Montessori method and that are demonstrated in today’s society are respect, a prepared environment for optimal development, hands on learning, discovery, imagination, freedom of choice, and independence.

Educators play a very important role in furthering a child’s cognitive and character development. Children spend ample time in a daycare and classroom setting where they are exposed to a wide variety of educational opportunities in spheres of academic, social, and emotional learning. In these early stages, a teacher has a significant impact on a child who is still developing and is a sponge, taking in all the information around them. It is therefore critical for an educator to be aware of Piagetian and Sociocultural theories and what role they play in the development of children.

The Reggio approach to education respects the individuality of the child, his strength and capability and innate curiosity about the world around him, the environment(p31). The Reggio Emilia curriculum(p31) is generated based on the interests of the child, encouraging the child to initiate his own learning in an environment conducive to exploration and discovery. The ideas for the curriculum emerge naturally from the questions raised by the child in an

In “The Montessori Method,” Maria Montessori proposes that teachers should teach according to what they have learned about the student. This method can be applied by "careful observation of the way in which children pursue their own learning" (573). Montessori’s argument is that students can only retain knowledge to their fullest capacity when teachers choose to teach directly to the students as individuals instead of as a whole. Not every student is the same because all students have different life experiences and life struggles. For this reason, Montessori questions why educational information is taught to all students the same way. Instead, students should have the opportunity to express their personality while teachers work towards developing engaging material that matches each child’s learning style, but this adaptation in teaching can only occur if the education system allows the students and teachers more freedom in educational course.

My philosophy of education is going to focus on the belief that every child can learn. It is a educator’s responsibility to determine how to be most effective in the classroom and assist every student in the learning process. My goal in the classroom is to create a safe learning environment. In order to do this, I will be astute at all times. I will look for clues and cues to find each student’s learning style. Some democracy is necessary in the classroom, so that the students feel invested. However, the teacher needs to remain in control to foster a proper learning environment. According the Piaget, the student’s will be in their second stage of cognitive development. In this stage, the children are still egocentric and unable to see any point of view other than their own. As a teacher, I will help guide them as they develop.

I will explore the important skills I believe I will need in the 21st century as a primary school educator, I will then explore the experiences of evaluating online sources of academic information. This will then lead onto online collaboration and the advantages and disadvantages of using this as a means of sharing information. This reflective discussion will be reviewing my role as a 21st century learner and professional. I will then lead into how my experience as a consumer, producer and sharer of information for professional and academic communication has changed throughout the course of this unit of study.