Amelia Saunders

Professional Philosophy

I believe that children are incredible beings that require engaging and differentiated

curricular experiences to grow through the developmental domains. As an educator, it is

necessary to provide students with rich, and meaningful opportunities for exploration with

hands-on activities that hold real world importance in their lives. Educating children will take a

dedicated passion for assisting young children in development, as well as a willingness to act as

a life-long learner in order to best provide for the students. More specifically, I intend to promote

variation in curricular activities that suit the needs of all, inspire desires for inquiry, and address

and explore the cultural elements in the classroom and greater global community. With these

elements at the forefront of my teaching, children will be best prepared to become life-long

learners, as well as involved members of society.

As a teacher, critical analysis of the opportunities provided to children must be addressed

consistently. Children come into the classroom with varying levels of development on all

domains, requiring individualized planning to engage their unique abilities and needs. As a

method of addressing these needs, I intend to implement activities that support Howard

Gardners Theory of Multiple Intelligence. This theory revolves around the idea that all people

have multiple intelligences that shape their abilities. While some of the intelligences indicate

strengths, others show challenges of an individual. Within the classroom, these eight

intelligences enlighten instructors to create activities in ways that best suit the students. In this

way, activities can better meet the needs of the children by teaching to their challenges and their

strengths, enhancing their abilities to develop. For example, if children are struggling in

mathematics yet excel in the musical/rhythmic intelligence, we can support their learning by
providing activities that use music to target math, such as when discussing patterns. Similarly,

the Sociocultural theory of Vygotsky also encourages the use of differences in order to enhance

student learning. By differences, Vygotsky encourages us to group developmentally diverse

together in order for children to assist each others learning through scaffolding. Furthermore,

teachers can take the role of guide with children as they enhance their levels of development

through the Zone of Proximal Development. In these ways, by providing diverse activities we

support diverse learners as guides to their learning.

Children also learn best from opportunities to explore and inquire about the world around

them. As described by Piaget, children shape their world from asking questions and exploring

their environments. In this way, children learn deeper meanings due to the intrinsic nature of

inquiry activities. Typically, when children are truly interested and engaged in activities, they

will develop more. Therefore, I plan on encouraging inquiry and exploration within the

classroom. Inquiry typically requires children to be inspired by questions of the world,

suggesting the need to be prepared within the environment to enhance and meet students

questions. Environments build relationships to learning by providing engaging objects for

children to manipulate in a space that heightens their abilities to learn. Everything from the items

chosen, arrangement of materials and even lighting impact opportunities for learning. In relation

to inquiry, the environment fosters learning by encouraging the questions of students. This can be

met by providing different tools, such as microscopes to support their abilities to explore.

Overall, the opportunity to inquire enhances childrens interests and abilities in learning.

Finally, I intend to embed cultural and communal elements into the classroom. As a

method of supporting children, educators need to form strong connections to the colleagues,

parents, and community of the classroom. Especially with families and the community, I believe
it is imperative to open communication lines, as well as embed activities that allow these

members to express their own cultures. This can appear in many forms including building mentor

programs with outside visits, having families visit and bring in a culturally significant artifact, as

well as through taking field trips to culturally relevant locations within the community. By doing

this, children will see themselves within the curriculum and form stronger attachments to the

academic classroom. Furthermore, as a childs first educator, teachers need to truly inform

parents of the activities and opportunities of inclusion within the classroom. Similarly, educators

must work with colleagues in collaborative manners to engage the children, families and the

community. These relationships require extensive opportunities to work together with colleagues

to plan and evaluate the program. From these opportunities, programs will better provide

impacting experiences for young children. Overall, I am excited to begin to support young

children and their families in the classroom. I hope to educate and inspire all as I use these values

to guide my own practices.