Jennifer Levinsky

ECD 105

Philosophy and Beliefs

When you are in a setting where you work with children, you should
always show professionalism. When going to work with young children,
always abide by the rules of the school or daycare center. When at the
school, dress code is very important. Your appearance should be neat and
clean. Never wear jeans and a t-shirt. When you are a teacher, an important
role to keep in mind is to arrive at the school with a positive attitude. If you
are in a good mood, it will radiate and your time with the children will be
rewarding. When I start working in the school system, I will abide by the rules
of the school. I will be polite and considerate of everyone in the building.
Each child has their own way of learning. Some children are quick
learners and others need extra time and patience. When teaching, the
teacher should first listen and observe the class. Once that is complete, the
teacher should have a good idea about each childs learning style. I truly
believe that children learn best from their peers. The teacher should place a
child who learns at a slower pace with a child who is learning at a faster
pace. They in turn learn from each other. They become little teachers. I
believe that children learn best through Interactions with others.

Relationships between a teacher and children is very important.

Children become better students when they gain confidence that the teacher
supports them. When showing support, the teachers should give each child
the same attention if possible. If every child feels like they belong, they may
be more inclined to become motivated and confident. I honestly believe that
if the relationship is just teacher/student and not have a deeper connection,
the child will have a sense of not belonging. The child may not want to go to
school or may throw tantrums as a way to escape an environment they dont
feel appreciated in. I also believe that all children should have a sense of
security and love while at school in the presences of teachers. Some children
may not get the attention at home and school is the one place they know
they can get it. They love the feeling of belonging.
Every person who comes in contact with children at school plays an
important role. The teacher is the one person the children look up to for
guidance, support and love. In the class, a teachers assistant is sometimes
needed. The relationship between the teacher and the teachers assistant
should be a good, professional and they should have good communication.
The one thing they have in common is the children in the classroom. If they
have a good relationship, it will be evident and the children will reap the
benefits. Teachers and parents/guardians relationship should be a good one
as well. If they have a good relationship, the parent will want to become
more involved in the class and in their childs learning. The teachers will feel
more inclined to address the concerns and needs of the child when

relationship is healthy. Parents in turn tend to perceive teachers as great

teachers. The relationship between the teacher and the director should be
professional and supportive. They should work together as a team. Directors
should motivate their teachers to be the best they can. Student success is
the ultimate goal.
The most important role a child has in the classroom is to be a child. If
it pertains

to behavior and guidance, the childs role will depend on if there

are any factors that play into how they act in the classroom setting. The
child is always watching everyone around them and they tend to model
those behaviors they witness. If they sense stress, or happiness, they will
model those behaviors. If the child is expected to follow guidelines within the
classroom, we must model the behavior we wish for them to behave as. The
child should be able to listen, be respectful, responsible and honest in the
classroom, school as a whole and at home.
In the classroom, the setup of the environment is important. In the
environment, there should be lots of materials. Those materials can range
from equipment to items that belong in the activity centers. Those centers
could be writing and art to dramatic play and blocks. There should be
multiples of popular items like books and crayons to costumes that belong in
the centers. When you have multiples of certain items, it creates less conflict
in the classroom environment. Children tend to gravitate towards toys and
other items that other child are finding pleasure with. They to want to play

with the same things and have just as much fun as the one playing with it.
So if there is just one of each item, there will be unwanted conflicts. So it is
best to have more than one of materials that may generate more play. In the
classroom environment, having a schedule is also important. It is important
to have a daily routine that is adapted to the childrens interests or needs.
The amount of time spent during one half of the day might change from one
day to the next but the order of events during the day are always consistent
and predictable. In the classroom, predictability is something preschoolers
need as a constant in their daily lives. When the routine is not predictable,
we tend to expect children to drop everything and do what comes next
without a clear understanding of what that is. This may cause stress and
sometimes anxiety for children, as well as adults, and can lead to some
unwanted, sad or disorderly transitions throughout the day. If the class
schedule has predictability, then the routine will help children learn to be
more independent, responsible, and confident about themselves and what
they can do.
As a teacher, it is important to work with students one on one to help
the child develop appropriate behavior. How well I will manage a students
behavior is crucial to my success as a teacher. In order to manage the
behavior, I believe you must figure out the source from where it stems from.
The source could come from physical disabilities, abuse or separation from
parents. Once the source is figured out, I must first make a plan that will
meet the needs of that child or children and try and implement it.

Implementing it will not be so easy to start with, but if you keep at it, the
behaviors the child is presenting may become better. Stay positive when
working on improving behaviors, it takes time. I believe that in order to
provide positive guidance, you must show the child that you value them. I
believe that is very important. I will also use my active listening skills and
use appropriate and relevant praise to reinforce appropriate behavior.
When misbehaviors occur, the best way to intervene is to use the six
steps of problem solving conflict resolutions. If a conflict arose, the first step
is to approach the situation quickly and calmly, making sure to stop any
hurtful behaviors. Then acknowledge their feelings and get down on their
level. Always use calm voice when talking to them and stay neutral. The
child (ren) need to know that we adults do understand their feelings. Next,
gather information. Information is needed to figure out what happened.
When they are trying to explain what happened, they should be given plenty
of time to explain the problem. After the information has been given, restate
the problem by using the language of the child as much as possible. Always
be respectful when restating the problem. Once the problem has been
determined, children should be allowed to try to solve it. If they cannot solve
the issue, ask to see if they want a suggestion. We need their input so that
we can allow them the opportunity to think about how to solve a conflict.
Once a solution has been agreed upon, restate the solution to verify that
everyone involved agrees. When restating, always try and rephrase any
hurtful language that the children used in their solution. Use simple language

that they will understand. After the solution has been complete, give follow
up support. Children should know you care.
In order to have guidance, you must have a positive discipline strategy
when working with young children. In order to have good strategies, the
adult must set these behaviors: good limit setting and communicating limits.
We must learn to manage typical discipline encounters with positive, helpful
strategies such as: redirection, active listening, I-messages, affirmations,
facilitating, conflict resolution and recognizing and dealing with emotions.
We must remember that guiding the behavior of children is done
throughout the day, not just when they misbehave. Predictable routines,
modeling behaviors, setting clear limits and being attentive is key to guiding
behaviors. I believe that when a child has a behavior issue, acknowledging
them and the problem is the first step. Talk with them one on one and not in
front of everyone. Some behaviors may get intensified if done in front of
peers. When talking with the child, use a calm voice, no yelling. My daughter
is in a situation where her behaviors are spiraling out of control. When they
talk to her, they are always using a loud, stern voice and its done in front of
the whole
class. She sees this as attention, but not the attention needed, so she
continues to act out. She is not given the appropriate guidance, therefore,
the behaviors do not get better.

At the beginning of class I was all about saying good job and discipline
my children as soon as unwanted behaviors occur. I know have stopped
myself from using the phrase, Good Job. Its like hearing nails on a chalk
board. I am not a big Alfie fan when it comes to this subject, but I can
definitely see where he is coming from. Children need to hear more of an
affirmation than Good Job. They need to know what they did well on. Every
day I am learning what to say in situations where I want to use that phrase.
After reading the article, I Dont Want to! in class, I was at a loss.
In the article it states that if the child misbehaves, do not get upset. If you
get upset in front of the child, they will feel like you are rewarding them for
their behavior. Instead, they ask for you to ignore the issue. Me personally,
thats hard. I feel like if you do not discipline the child at the moment of bad
behavior, they will forget later about what happened if you decide to
discipline them later. I am still trying to work on that. I believe it can work,
just needs practice.