The three core beliefs I have a professional in Education stem from my experience in the early childcare field, mentors in my training, and philosophers of excellence in education. The main component I look at when observing a student is not “How smart is this child”rather“How is this child smart”. This motto came to me early in the field from Jim Greenman. This man is a current legend in the early childcare field, he demands respect for young children and for all involved in their lives to take advantage of “Prime Times”.
I can identify with Jim’s belief system before any other.To me when he asks “how is this child smart”, this is truly taking the individual into consideration. I understand this to mean that all children are measured on their own scale; for example taking into consideration what successes the child has made rather than the child not being at the same level as the others. Respecting the student as an individual is the key component to education. The teacher must accept that a student learns in a different style and accommodate to that learning style for meaningful learning to take place.Another strong belief I have as an early childhood professional is that emotional intelligence is just as important as intellectual intelligence and are directly linked.
My goal as a teacher would be to motivated my students to be incremental learners; to learn because they want to acquire new and more efficient cognitive skills and to have master in their skills rather than to achieve good grades or to avoid failure. This gives students pride in themselves, to know they have accomplished a skill and enjoyed doing so.Learning is more meaningful when it pertains to a student’s life and when teachers use direct examples that the student is already familiar with then they obtain more of the knowledge and can use it on a comprehensive level. Erik Erickson’s stages of development have also had an impact on my system of beliefs. Erickson’s idea that each child must face a psychological crisis, that is this turning point in their development; this is when trust comes into play.
My belief is that before the curriculum put the child first. A student’s relationship with a teacher can determine exactly how much they are going to learn.To have a healthy relationship with your students is key to a progressive classroom. Looking back on my own educational career I have noticed in each class that I have had a teacher that I had a good relationship with I had done very well in and I still have the knowledge of the material. My key focus as an early childhood professional is to always see the student as an individual and foster to their developmental needs, motivate to develop incremental learners, and have a trusting relationship with the students. If these key components of a healthy classroom are in place then the educational experiences will be successful and enjoyable.
