Infant-Toddler Philosophy
Things I live by as a teacher
My Philosophy
I want my students to feel safe in my classroom and to understand that I care about their well-being and them as a person. I want them to know that I care about them more than on a student level, which is more of a progressivism perspective. Tying in recontructionsim is the idea of trying to make my students aware of what society wants us as humans to be and how we should act, but making my students aware that they should be ready for society and the “real world” without conforming them or transforming them into something they don’t want to be. Finally, I emphasize my class teaching as existentialism, because I want my students to be aware of real world problems, and what’s happening in the world, so they are ready when they are done with this environment and move into their next educational experiences. A teacher should be aware of their students’ emotional, social, psychological, and physical development as well as their cognitive growth.
Goals for Teaching
- Feeling safe and comfortable, a sense of belonging in the classroom
- Nurturing and enriching classroom that promotes productive and inclusive learning
- Children will be aware and ready for what society has to offer when they enter their next education experience (existentialist outlook).
- Building relationships with each child so they have a sense that I care
Strategies
- View parents and community members as supporters in the educational process
- Having a positive and caring attitude, and try to connect with students
- Becoming a guide for my students and not alienating them, but not completely "holding their hands"
- Make lessons visual - visual representations, graphs, maps, photographs, drawings, and charts are a way to introduce new concepts and ideas
- Think-alouds and think-pair-shares when asking questions and giving students time to process what they just learned
- Teach one thing at a time, and do not move on until everyone has come to an understanding of the material