Teaching Philosophy

While I believe education is the ultimate backbone of our society, the type of education also plays a large role in the development of our people. As a student and as an educator, I believe education should be reciprocal between the teacher and student, hands on, and student driven. Within early childhood education this means guiding curriculum from emerging student interest, creating a safe and positive environment, and tending to young students like the humans that they are (who have differences, wants, needs, and feelings that are valued). Additionally, education needs love and respect: a mutual relationship formed among the family, child, and teacher. Education is reciprocal in the sense that the student and teacher are always learning from each other. Children are “out of the box” thinkers, and that’s really powerful to see and experience as an adult. Giving some freedom to children in what and how they learn also help facilitate a love for learning. I think it is important to give children agency and acknowledge that their opinions and feelings matter and are valued. The importance of a child’s opinion also pairs closely with my belief that children are individuals and most importantly, capable beings. As an educator, I hold even my youngest students to their full potential and hold them accountable (within reason) for their actions. By giving students the room to make mistakes and experiment with independence in a safe environment, I am modeling the important part of learning that mistakes happen and we can grow from them. I am passionate about teaching early childhood education because I truly believe us educators have the noble responsibility of creating the next generation of caring, inquisitive, and critical human beings who love to learn. “Our task is to educate their (our students) whole being so they can face the future. We may not see the future, but they will and our job is to help them make something of it.” ― Ken Robinson