Marcella Fick Fall 2018

Philosophy of Teaching Young Children

In a classroom full of young children, there is so much development taking place

mentally, physically, emotionally, and socially. Young students especially need the chance to

practice and grow in all of these areas and that is what I hope to allow them to do in my future

early childhood classroom. In my classroom, students will have the chance to stretch their minds

and bodies as they learn to read, write, count, problem solve, interact with others, and so much

more. Piaget tells us that children at this age are egocentric in nature and are learning to see

things symbolically. This is especially true when learning to read, write and count. Children

learn their letters and that they are symbols if those letters have meaning to them, like the first

letter of their name. This is something that I will strive to foster in my class so that my students

will understand that letters and numbers are not just symbols, but that they have meaning as well.

Teachers in early education also must help their students begin developing respectful

relationships with peers and adults. They must be taught how to express things such as, “I want

to play with you.” or “You took that toy from me and I want it back.” If these emotions are not

expressed verbally they will be expressed physically. Teachers must be able to mediate these

conversations and model for their students how they should behave.

From research, we know that play is essential for children to develop both physically and

cognitively, so there will be a constructive amount of free choice play in my classroom.

Facilitating this time and interactions between the students is so important to me as we dive into

math, science, reading, and writing. Assessments will be based on attitudes displayed in the

classroom, competed work in the classroom, and different learning experiences. Teaching young

children is a privilege and one that I hope to foster well in the future.