I want to work in this field because as a child, I was not given the best fertilizer to thrive in a classroom; being coddled and not being held to my fullest potential. I feel that it is my duty to prepare students for a lifetime of success through a well structured, fun, and friendly, environment. Through this environment, I hope that with my hard work, dedication, and help of my colleagues, the younger generation of tomorrow will have a pleasurable learning experience and think school is a fun place to be!
Teacher qualities and responsibilities
As an educator, one must be friendly, a people person, well educated, keen at listening and most importantly, keeping the little ones safe at all times. …show more content…
But what does this really mean? In reality, who would want to have a teacher that is cold, unapproachable, and does not make you feel safe and to top it off, does not have a clue in how to properly educate a child not knowing and using DAP (Developmentally Appropriate Practices) guidelines; plus knowing how the child’s mind work As the teacher it is their duty to role model proper social interactions and demonstrate how to be a productive part of society as the child grow up. Being a teacher requires one to be friendly, well educated facilitate a suitable environment and an advocator without these traits and qualities, one might not last a week. To succeed in this field a teacher must have proper guidance, ask questions, and monitor the progress of their students through observations and appropriate assessments.
“Guiding Behavior”
In a classroom, not every child is going to be on his or her best behavior for the entire day multiple factors can determine how a child will act for the day, for example, one child’s pet may have passed away and the child feels sad. Or, the child did not sleep well the previous night; that being said, there must be a plan in place for when a child does act out. Self-regulation comes easy to us adults but not so much for young children. By definition self -regulation is the process of controlling one's emotions, for example, a grown adult can resolve a conflict through talking it through with the other individual. A child cannot achieve this alone; through the guidance of a teacher, this is plausible. Another example of guiding behavior is something called pro-social behavior. Pro-social behavior is the action of helping others without the expectation of gaining a reward this teaches the child to do something nice for another child or teacher and reduces the possibility of a conflict arising An example of pro-social behavior would be for a child to share a toy with one of their peers.
“Indoor Environment”
Why would one think of setting up a classroom in any way that they choose?
Is it because they like how it looks? Or is it because there are different theories on how a classroom should be set up? Aesthetically speaking a classroom should be warm and welcoming with an abundant source of natural lighting. Nevertheless, one does not want to make it too bright that it becomes an eyesore. Not only is the aesthetic component important in setting up a classroom, but also a teacher must be concerned about safety issues that might arise. Classroom hazards include electrical, fire prevention, emergency first aid kits, exits and a strategy that is in place, walking surfaces, the furnishings in a class, and finally storing materials in a safe place where it is out of reach for children. Other factors come into play when designing a well suited indoor environment. There must be things to do for children to do. That is where different centers come into play such as the dramatic play center. At this center, children learn through role-play such as being a doctor or going to the supermarket. Then there is the sensory station. Here children learn through touch, smell, taste, and most importantly, getting dirty playing with different provided materials such as sand. After using their little minds to create a masterpiece out of mud, the little ones may want to take a break that’s where the library center comes into play. The library center offers a chance for the child to sleep or read a …show more content…
good book with the teacher or teacher’s aide. Then, we move on to my personal favorite the science and math center! This is where brilliant minds in the math and sciences are born! Children play with objects to either count how many objects they have; this kick starts the mathematical and logistical thinking. If one does not like the sciences and or math table then, why not migrate over to the arts and crafts table. Art brings out the child’s creative side furthermore, it gives the child freedom to paint or create whatever they want however they want to. There is no wrong answer in art!
“Outdoor Environment”
One of the most important aspects of a classroom is learning outdoors; children need a place to run around and just have fun! A lot of thought is given to designing an outdoor environment. An outdoor environment should have plenty of fun educational material available, however, there should be material available for kids to play with such as a sandbox, a jungle gym, a non-metal south-facing slide. Staff at the school should be vigilant of possible safety issues such as beehives, any unwanted visitors either human or nonhuman, having a first aid kit outdoors and lastly, clean up the play area which children have played; making sure that debris is removed, so the safety of children is intact. Even though safety for a child is the main priority it is also good for the child to take a safe risk such as going on the balancing beam; we as teachers are there to help the children if they need help but, it is important for children to take that risk; that risk of going on something that is scary and hopefully completing the task on their own. The look on the child’s face is priceless when they achieve their goal. “Curriculum”
In a classroom setting, the teacher's purpose is to teach kids through different types of theories or styles of learning through something called (DAP) or Developmentally appropriate practices.
By definition, DAP is an approach to teaching grounded in the research on how young children develop and learn and in what is known about practical early education. Its framework is designed to promote young children's optimal learning and development. There are many different curriculums in today's teaching society Waldorf's curriculum stresses the theory of the whole child. What does that mean? It means to incorporate the young child and teach them life skills with an academic twist on the end of the spectrum is something called the project-based curriculum these believes in working together with students and teachers to come up with a game plan of what the day is going to be. My personal favorite is the Montessori curriculum The Montessori Curriculum believes in learning through play and learn at their own
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Professionalism/Reflection
Keeping current in the field is crucial for success in working any career path that one chooses; especially when it comes to working with the younger generation of tomorrow. I would feel more comfortable sending my child to an instructor who knows what the new trends, safety regulations and appropriate practices that are in ECE. Getting along with colleagues is an essential part of the job. They are there to help you if you need help; which in the first year, one will need plenty of guidance.Why not continue one's education? Again, this goes back to keeping current in the field. The more education one gets, the better off they are both occupationally and financially. Lastly, reflecting one's practice. Why did I become a teacher? Is it because I did not get the proper education that I deserved, so I feel that is my responsibility to deliver the best education to children from all different backgrounds, learning styles? Or is it because I looked up to my teacher as a child and I wanted to be like him or her? The possibilities are endless!