Sydney McCarty

My Philosophy of Education

Making a difference in children’s lives has always been something that I knew I wanted

to do as a career. Here in my final year of college, I am positive that sharing my love for learning

with children is what I was made to do. I believe that teaching should be something that you

enjoy doing every day. Teaching is a job that you have to be passionate about and knowing that I

am making a difference and impacting every child in my classroom’s live is something that is

very important to me knowing that I am supporting the children of the next generation. Not only

is it important how a teacher looks at their students, it is important how the students look at their

teacher as well. I believe that all children should feel heard, included, and safe in their own

classroom. When a child is in a positive learning environment surrounded by encouraging and

kind peers and teachers, it is the perfect environment for them to thrive in and make them enjoy

coming to learn every day. Maria Montessori is a significant influence to this type of positive

child-centered environment. This means that children have materials that are appropriate for their

ages such as furniture and tools (Mooney, p.38). As an educator, Montessori has lots of theories

that I believe in and will be implementing in my own classroom and she is a big inspiration to

me.

Emergent curriculum is important to me in my classroom. I believe that children learn the

best when they are interested in what they are learning about. Emergent curriculum is an efficient

way to combine both their interests and the core subjects into a project or lesson that they are

excited about. I know that a child has learned when they contribute their knowledge and opinions

in the classroom which is why emergent curriculum is so important. A major goal that I have set
for myself throughout my career in teaching is to never stop learning myself. I would like to

further my education as much as I can to continuously develop my skills and learn new ideas.

This way my students will be able to do the same. My philosophy of education will also grow

with me as an educator as I continue my education and learn new ideas, which is something that

excites me for my future career as an early childhood educator.

Resource

Mooney, C.G. (2013). Theories of Childhood: An introduction to Dewey,

Montessori, Erikson, Piaget & Vygotsky. St. Paul, MN: Redleaf Press