of
Education
"I
had learned to respect the intelligence, integrity, creativity, and capacity
for deep thought and hard work latent somewhere in every child; they had
learned that I differed from them only in years and experience, and that
as I, an ordinary human being, loved and respected them, I expected payment
in kind."
Experience.
A child, like adults as well, learns through experience. Children
have to explore their surroundings through creativity, experimenting, spontaneity,
confusion, mistakes, smiles, praise, and their imagination. Every
child has the capability to be the most unique individual possible, but
often times they are limited. Children are sometimes sheltered from
this process of exploration, therefore, they miss out on many opportunities
that could shape their individual world.
I feel a
child is a creative mind, always curious about his/her environment.
Personally, I believe the worst thing a teacher, can do for a child is
limit his/her environment by structuring it so perfectly that there is
no room for personal discoveries from the child. If a child is given
a piece of paper and a crayon, there would be endless possibilities of
what the child would be able to create, but there are even more possibilities
of what the child would tell about his/her picture. The stories that
go along with the art are absolutely unimaginable! Why limit these
opportunities? An important lesson, tied into my philosophy of teaching,
is to let the child explain what it is the picture means, Don't assume
you know. The stories a child tells, whether it take 30 seconds or
30 minutes, will most likely be the most touching stories ever heard!
In my mind, the opportunities a child is given are really molding who that
child is going to be, and who that child is right then and there.
A picture really is worth a thousand words.
I also believe
a child learns through many means, allowing every child to learn differently.
It is important, and possible, to create a goal that is attainable through
many different means. Personally, I am a hands-on learner.
I enjoy doing projects and writing versus reading books and being tested
on them. I think it is crucial to show what I know through my creativity
and imagination than actually answering questions on a piece of paper.
Through this hands-on method, I am able to show and explain how and why
I did what I did, proving my understanding of the material.
By being
able to show what I know through my imagination, I am not forced to do
something I do not like to do. I would never learn that way.
If I am forced to learn in a way I am not comfortable, or do not understand,
I would never learn. I would spend more time trying to defend my
frustration by thinking of a way to get back at my teacher than I would
actually spend trying to learn the material. This is why I feel it
is also important to offer children choices.
By allowing
a child the right to make choices, he/she begins to process and analyze
decision making. They are also encouraged to go beyond the normal
way of achieving a goal, and really explore many options to find a solution
to the same problem. This allows each child to strive for that unique
individual hidden inside of everyone! By choosing how to reach the
goal, and then doing so, the child feels like he/she had more of a say
in the lesson, and therefore, does not feel so much like they are being
told what to do. I think, along with the opportunity to choose, this
brings about a sense of respect.
Respect is
a very important issue in schools. When young, children need to be
respected and praised, just as the teacher hopes to be respected and praised
by his/her peers, and students as well. A child learns this respect
by watching the actions of others. I, as a teacher, will respect
my students, and accept each individual for the person they are.
In return, I hope my students will share the same respect towards me.
If I were to unintentionally disrespect, or hurt the feelings of, a child,
I would hope that child would come to me and tell me so, just as
I would approach them if I was hurt. However, if I hurt a child,
I would step back and question myself first. What is it I did to
hurt the child? Could I have done anything differently? I would
definitely put myself in the position of the child and understand try and
understand how I made him/her feel. I have learned, as a child myself
and now an adult, nobody learns through criticism.
All in all,
I believe
a child needs to feel free to experience new ideas, form new discoveries,
and mold their personality through those experiences. Growing up
is somewhat a process of trial and error, that is how a person learns.
I do not see the need to map out a life for each one of my students.
It is important for a child to learn their own limits, make mistakes, and
express their personality in a way they want to do so. As a teacher,
my role in this is to guide them on the path they choose, offering support,
encouragement, praise, and love. I need to be sympathetic toward
each student, but I also need to be a role model for them as well.
My students will know I am there to teach them, but I am also there to
learn with them, and from them.
