Anya Wood

Teaching Philosophy

I have a lot of high expectations for my future classroom. First of all, I hope that all of

my students like one another and treat each other with respect. I want them all to be as

successful as possible and to fulfill their dreams. I also want them to feel welcome and wanted.

I need to know that they trust me and that they feel comfortable asking me anything.

These expectations are something that I will need to work at over time. Many of the

readings that we read this semester have showed me ways in which I can accomplish these goals.

Every student is unique and has vastly different needs, which makes these tasks even more

challenging, but it is something that I look forward to working on. Jerome Bruner summed this

idea up very well in his piece titled Models of the Learner. He stated that You cannot improve

the state of education without a model of the learner. Yet the model of the learner is not fixed

but various (Bruner, 1985, p.8). This concept is very interesting to think about as education

standards are constantly being questioned and changed. There should be some form of

standards or models that teachers are required to follow, but at the same time these things

need to be flexible enough to adapt to the individual needs of every student.

In Three Approaches from Europe: Waldorf, Montessori and Reggio Emilia, Carolyn

Edwards outlines specific topics relating to each approach such as the history, the curriculum,

and the role of the teacher. She stressed the fact that All three view children as active authors of

their own development, strongly influenced by natural dynamic, self-righting forces within

themselves (Edwards, 2002, p. 7). The part of this quote that stands out to me the most is

active authors. This term refers to the benefits that come from children having the ability to
make some of their own choices in a classroom. This freedom allows them to explore any

interests they might have. When students have some control over what they are learning they

will be much more motivated and eager to accomplish tasks related to that topic. This could be

done by sending forms home to parents asking them what their children are interested in at the

time.

This idea relates well to an article published in 2015 titled Why Dont You Tell the Other

Kids written by Mara Krechevsky. She discusses how the Reggio Emilia teaching approach

impacted her parenting style and how she was able to connect with her sons teacher. One

morning when she was walking her son to preschool they had a conversation that unexpectedly

ended up having a huge impact on her sons classroom. Her son, Caleb, asked How do leaves

get back on trees? and his mother responded and said What do you think? Caleb initially

responded and said that he was unsure, but then his mother challenged him and he came up with

the theory that people go around and pick up the leaves and place them back on the trees

(Krechevsky, 2015). Conversations similar to this occur multiple times a day between children

and their parents, but many parents do not realize the potential that these conversations have to

impact childrens development.

In this particular instance, Calebs mother took advantage of the situation and mentioned

the interaction to Calebs teacher. The teacher then asked Caleb to share his theory to the entire

class. The children were very intrigued by the topic and worked together to develop their own

experiment. The children had discussions with one another and came to the conclusion that

people are not tall enough to reach the branches of most trees. They then decided to take

branches off of trees and place them in dirt to see if the buds will continue to grow. They figured

out that this was not possible either (Krechevsky, 2015).

 This story shows how much potential there is in allowing children to have some say in

what they learn about. It proves that children begin engaging in intense thought processes at

very young ages. In this situation, the students developed various theories and hypotheses.

Because the topic was introduced to the class by one of their peers, they were more motivated to

invest time into learning about the life cycle of trees. Calebs teacher also encouraged students to

speak up and share any questions or concerns they might have. Students should feel comfortable

expressing their opinions in a classroom. This is something that I will strive to accomplish

(Krechevsky, 2015).

This article also displays how important it is for students to begin working together in

groups from the very beginning of their formal schooling. This allows them to become more

independent and to practice their problem solving skills. In The Light Fantastic: Making

Learning Visible for All Children Through the Project Approach, Kathleen Harris and Leslie

Gleim further defend the benefits of project-based learning, particularly for students with special

needs. They stated that Project work for all young children, including those with special needs,

can lead to higher level thinking (Harris & Gleim, 2008, p. 29). This is something I will

consider in the future, as I am planning to continue my education and get my Masters Degree in

Special Education.

Every Kid Needs a Champion (2013) is a very powerful TED Talk. In this video, Rita

Pierson discussed things that you need to make sure your students are aware of, and things that

you need to make sure your students never become aware of. She emphasized the importance of

ensuring that each one of your students knows that you are there for them in every possible way,

even if you do not like them. Kids pick up on things very easily, and they can tell when teachers

do not like them. In her TED Talk she stresses the fact that Kids dont learn from people they
dont like (Pierson, 2013). She told a story about her mother who was a teacher, and she always

kept snacks and soap in her desk drawer for students who did not have the best home life.

Actions similar to these make a huge impact on kids and follow them for the rest of their lives.

Her mother touched the lives of so many students. I aspire to be a teacher like Rita Piersons

mother, although I know that this will not be easy (Pierson, 2013).

Another thing that stood out to me in the video is the fact that Rita was always optimistic.

She never emphasized the things that students did incorrectly, instead she emphasized things that

they did correctly. For example, she said that if one of her students got 18 out of 20 questions

incorrect, she would write +2 at the top of their paper instead of -18 (Pierson, 2013). This

technique gives students a boost of confidence and encourages them not to give up.

To Teach: The Journey in Comics is a book written by Williams Ayers (2010). This book

made great connections back to the Rita Pierson video. In one of the comics, one of the

characters says Focusing on what I cant do diminishes hope and limits possibility. It pays no

attention to what I can do (Ayers, 2010, p. 20). If students are constantly reminded of what they

cannot do, they will be discouraged and will not feel comfortable branching out and trying new

things.

As I mentioned earlier, every student has individualized needs which can sometimes

make certain situations difficult. With that being addressed, if every student required exactly the

same kind of attention, the profession of teaching would be rather boring. In her book The Boy

Who Would Be a Helicopter, Paley states that Without the uniqueness of each child, teaching

would be a dull, repetitive exercise for me (1990, p. 47). I think that this quote is very moving

and it is something that I will carry with me throughout my teaching career. If at any time I
become frustrated or overwhelmed, I will think back to this quote and remember that these

differences are what makes teaching so exciting and intriguing.

Another technique that I hope to implement in my class is self-directed learning. This is

a topic that we covered in more depth in ECE 479, but it also ties into topics that we discussed in

this class. In certain scenarios, I think it is important for children to make their own decisions,

and the best place for children to do this is through play and storytelling. These actions allow

kids to complete self-reflections. In some cases, they may express concerns or needs that they

are nervous to address at any other time. In The Boy Who Would Be a Helicopter, Paley says

that A day without storytelling is, for me a disconnected day (1990, p. 3). This quote proves

that storytelling plays a huge role in the daily routine of a classroom for both the students and the

teachers.

Promoting Creativity for Life Using Open-Ended Materials was written by Walter Drew

and Baji Rankin (2004). In this article, the two authors address seven principles that they believe

are present in classrooms. One of these principles states: Teachers are nourished by observing

childrens joy and learning (p. 6). This principle relates back to Paleys idea of teachers also

becoming engaged in story time and play. This semester I work six hours a week in the Bennett

Family Center, and when I walk around and see that kids are enjoying themselves it makes me

very happy.

Once I implement all of the techniques that I discussed above, I plan to document all

improvements that my students make. In The Power of Documentation in the Early Childhood

Classroom, Seitz states that an effective way to document a students efforts is by constructing

portfolios (Setiz, 2008, p. 8). I like the idea of making portfolios because this allows the students

along with their parents to visually see progress that is being made. In The Three Approaches
from Europe: Waldorf, Montessori, and Reggio Emilia, Carolyn Edwards discusses the fact that

all three of these approaches assess and document children in non-traditional ways. One

interesting concept that she addressed is that many teachers in these environments are beginning

to use dialogue as an efficient type of assessment (Edwards, 2002, p. 16). I would definitely

want to try this in my classroom in order to take some of the emphasis off of formal tests and

assessments, although I would still incorporate some tests into my curriculum.

I discussed just few of the techniques that I plan on implementing into my future

classroom. As I continue my education here at Penn State, I look forward to gaining more

knowledge about how to design a classroom that is as beneficial as possible for all students. I

want to touch the lives of all of my students and I want them to remember their elementary

school days as some of the most influential days of their lives. I plan to try out new ideas that

have the potential to work, along with old ideas that might have failed in the past. There are tons

of ideas, theories, and concepts that have been developed that teachers need to have the courage

to try. As Mara Krechevsky stated in Challenging Education Assumptions: Lessons from an

Italian-American Collaboration, Everything has been thought of before; the difficulty is to

think of it again (Krechevsky, 2000, p. 57).

References

Ayers, W. (2010). To Teach: the journey, in comics. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Bruner, J. (1985). Models of the Learner. Educational Researcher, 14(6), 5-8.

Drew, W., & Rankin, B. (2004). Promoting Creativity for Life Using Open-Ended Materials. 1-
8. Retrieved February 21, 2017.

Edwards, C. (2002). Three Approaches from Europe: Waldorf, Montessori and Reggio
Emilia. Family and Consumer Sciences, Department of Faculty Publications, Department
of Family and Consumer Sciences, 1-24.

Harris, K. I., and Gleim, L. (2008). The Light Fantastic: Making Learning Visible for All
Children Through the Project Approach. Sage Publications.

Krechevsky, M. (2015). Why Don't You Tell the Other Children?

Mara, K., & Janet, S. (2000). Challenging Education Assumptions: Lessons from an Italian-
American Collaboration. Cambridge Journal of Education, 30(1).

Paley, V. (1990). The Boy Who Would Be a Helicopter. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University
Press.

Pierson, R. (2013, May). Rita Pierson: Every kid needs a champion [Video file]. Retrieved from
https://www.ted.com/talks/rita_pierson_every_kid_needs_a_champion

Seitz, H. (2008). The Power of Documentation in the Early Childhood Classroom.