Philosophy of Ed

Philosophy of Education

Carley Herndon

Dr. VanHefter

Education 111

October 20,2020

Education is a crucial part of the development of our society. Education is the foundation

behind every aspect of our world, which makes learning an important part of all children’s lives.

I would focus on creating a welcoming environment to promote learning, establish meaningful

relationships throughout faculty/parents/peers, all while allowing children to explore the world

around them.

Creating a welcoming environment not only promotes learning for the student but also

promotes an environment in which I can accurately teach all students. My room needs to be a

diverse environment including different learning centers for play but also separate places for

learning (Bredekamp, 2017). I would include different areas for dramatic play, manipulatives,

art and writing to allow student exploration and use of their social skills, just as Maria

Montessori did. In each different area, things would be labeled in both Spanish and English with

an image of the item while having proper bins for storage so when the child is done they can

match the bin to the label on the shelf. As well as having multiple different skills addressed for

any activity instead of just focusing on academics I would add using fine motor skills they need

later into the mix (Bredekamp, 2017). Also for the stations, they would have a certain number of

students allowed in one area as seen in my observation at the Head Start in Columbia. This

1
Philosophy of Ed

would promote problem-solving skills as well as how to share items and also to interact with

other peers.

Establishing meaningful relationships is another crucial life skill for an effective

education. Not only do the students need to learn social skills but also the

teachers/parents/faculty need to have proper relationships to help the child succeed in their

learning. I would promote the use of kind words and problem-solving throughout the day from

displaying problem-solving idea cards at each station but creating a small area where children

can go to sit and discuss what is going on and if needed to get a teacher just like I saw in my

HeadStart observation in Columbia. The cards would have images as well as Spanish/English

translations; some examples of cards would include: “say please”, “get a timer”, and “share”.

Overall I would try to promote children to problem solve on their own, taking ownership of their

environment and their interactions. I would incorporate parents with parent-teacher conferences

or school to home communication logs that would be sent home every day to help the parents

know what their child is doing and if they have any questions regarding the classroom. I used

these in my Autistic Support classroom under my teacher Mrs. Patterson would allow us to

communicate to the parents but also allow them to tell us how their child is doing at home .

Additionally, I would make sure all the necessary faculty would be updated on students who may

need extra help. I would also discuss with the parents what I am seeing if a student is struggling

but also I would reach out to counselors or certain therapists to see if they can help me properly

assess the child.

Allowing children to explore and take ownership of their learning allows them to be

active learners in their education. I would encourage students to be active learners by allowing

them to help create a set of rules for our classroom, allow children to solve problems on their

2
Philosophy of Ed

own and only step in when needed, and also allowing them to take ownership of what happens in

the room: such as allowing them to win a class reward and picking what the reward was. I saw

this used in my observation at the Columbia Head Start, it really motivated the kids to stay on

track since they picked what they earned. Yes, they will have times of small group learning

allowing them to learn at their pace with their peers. During small groups, they would be able to

work on their own but also ask peers if they need help. I would give necessary individualized

written assessments if needed by the school or state but I would use a fun app on the iPad (as

seen at the Columbia HeadStart) to have a fun way to assess students individually while they are

playing a fun game. When doing whole group learning, I would utilize both a carpet area and

their table space depending on what the topic was. An example is when learning the alphabet the

students and I would use letter cards and also create hand motions to help create the proper

sound the letter makes. I saw this used in a learning support classroom in Pequea Valley

Elementary, it helped the students not only master the skill but also remember them all. Once we

mastered a letter on the carpet we would go to our seats and practice writing the letter and

continue the back and forth while writing and discussing the letter sound, how to write the letter,

what words have the letter, etc.

Overall my goal is to have my classroom be child centered just as John Dewey did. I

want every child to feel important and adapt to help them succeed. I want to incorporate some of

the well known ideals but also incorporate new things we continue to learn about how to teach

children.

References

3
Philosophy of Ed

Bredekamp, S. (2017). Effective practices in early childhood education: Building a foundation.

Place of publication not identified, New York: Pearson.