My teaching philosophy statement is based on the concepts of love, affection, care, guidance and trust in young children. As an early childhood professional I believe that each child is an individual and learns according to his own pace. As an educator, it is my duty to value and develop each child’s skills, interests, capabilities, and knowledge to enhance their learning. It is my responsibility to provide a stimulating educational environment that helps children to develop socially, physically, emotionally, and mentally.
My philosophy statement is based on theorists, Jean Piaget, Lev Vygotsky, and the early childhood movement from Reggio Emilia, Italy. I will follow the concept of the Zone of Proximal Development (Vygotsky, 1978, p. 86) by providing activities to the children that are based on their past learning and support new learning at a slightly more difficult level.
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Vygotsky believed that children’s cognitive understandings were enriched and deepened when they were ‘scaffolded’ by parents, teachers, or peers (Berk 1996).
I consider that playing the method of learning for children at an early stage is the appropriate way of teaching. Through play young children learn to analyze, discover and imagine. They are little investigators who use their senses to examine everything. According to Piaget (1973), “A student who achieves a certain knowledge through free investigation and spontaneous effort will later be able to retain it” (p. 93). Piaget says that only providing information to the children is not the correct way of teaching. I support Piaget’s concrete learning where the children should be able to see, taste, feel, smell, and touch the objects they are learning about. Learning is not something that is done to the child, but rather something she does (Firlik, 1994).
Family and community involvement are integral components of my philosophy because they are partners, and advocates for their children. I believe that developing the best interaction with the families has a positive effect on children’s development. As a teacher, I must respect parents because they are the children’s first teachers. I believe in involving parents and the community in curriculum planning.
I believe in enhancing children’s learning by planning activities according to their interests and taking part in those activities with them, rather than just passively watching their learning.
'As a partner to the child, the teacher is inside the learning situation' (Hewett, 2001).
So for me, teaching is not only giving knowledge to children but is a way to learn new ideas, philosophies, and techniques from children, parents, colleagues, and the community. Learning is a lifelong process so my philosophy may change with time which is an indication that I have experienced new things.
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