Philosophy Paper
1.) Why have you chosen to be in this field?
The first 5 years are pivotal in a child’s life. What a child learns during this fundamental period will forever mold and shape them. It is a tremendous benefit that they have exposure to an excellent teaching staff. It would be desirable that all children could avail this resource. However, though that is idealistic, I hope my entry into the field improves the lives of the children I serve. It is my aim to meet this standard of excellence in guiding children to learn developmentally appropriate skills which will help them achieve a successful academic future.
I am aware that I will be setting the tone for their future as a student. This is their first exposure to school. Drilling children with a curriculum that is not suitable for their age and stage will create many adverse effects. For example, children who are pressured to sit down and learn to read in preschool will likely hate attending and not want to go. Their self esteem may suffer and they will lose a potential love for learning. Sadly, these children are exposed to an unnecessary stress and may resort to feelings of failure if they don’t meet the expectations of the adults. One thing a child will need to succeed in life and academics is self confidence—a quality I will do my utmost to instill in each child.
I love children. I enjoy talking, playing, guiding, and caring for them. I don’t want to stifle their promise for doing well in school and life by forcing developmental growth on them. Rather, I want children to learn by doing what they love—play. I want to facilitate their learning in ways that will both pleasurable and appropriate to their level. I want to be someone they will trust, respect and enjoy....
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...arn appropriate behavior by observing teachers accomplishing a task while demonstrating the self-regulation needed to complete it. However, it is essential that the teachers remain consistent. They can also model socially correct responses by being active participants in conversations with their children and facilitating/mediating peer-to-peer support during times of conflict. For instance, the teachers will employ strategies to help the children come up with solutions to their own conflicts by asking questions. A good educator will allow the children freedom to test and try their solutions seek a different solution if the first attempt was not successful. This is often very effective at teaching children problem solving skills and also curbing the surge of emotion from their problem. Instead, the child will redirect their feelings and time towards fixing the issue.
Dr. Alison Gopnik’s drew the following truth that “children are intellectually more skilled and far more sophisticated in their thinking then we ever imagined”(Gopnik2009). Gopnik also stated preschoolers are extremely well designed for learning. They are naturally curious. They learn through exploring and playing. “The value of play” was also presented in Gopnik’s research. He clarified that when children engage in pretend play, they will have imaginary characters and explore other world. They are learning peoples’ nature, how people think, do, and work. This helps them understand themselves and other people, to improve their social traits or in balancing school, and to increase their social competences in life. Gopnik demonstrated the idea
Early Childhood is marked by a time in children’s lives when they develop “a confident self-image, more effective control over their emotions, new social skills, the foundations of morality, and a clear sense of themselves as boy or girl” (Berk, Kauffman & Landrum, 2011, pg. 45). According to Erik Erikson, early childhood is a period of “vigorous unfolding,” one where children have a sense of autonomy and a new sense of purposefulness or initiative (Berk, Kauffman & Landrum, 2011, pg. 45). Play is a means for children to learn about themselves and they begin to adopt the moral and gender-role standards of the society in which they live (Berk, Kauffman & Landrum, 2011). A negative outcome of early childhood is the guilt children feel as a result of excessive punishment and criticism by the adults in their lives (Berk, Kauffman & Landrum, 2011)....
Ginsburg, K. R. (2006). "The Species of the World. " The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent–Child Bonds. USA: American Academy of Pediatrics.
My current perceptions of young children’s learning comes from working as a parent helper assistant at my children’s kindergarten for many years and my observation of children’s learning.
An Article by Dr. Leong and Dr. Bodrova (2016) stated that play is beneficial to children’s learning especially when it reaches a certain degree of complexity. When they engage in play activities most of their early years, they learn to delay gratification and to prioritize their goals and actions. They also learn to consider the perspectives and needs of other people and to represent things significantly to regulate their behavior and actions in a cautious, intentional way.
My desire for children in my care is that their learning journey would be meaningful as they explore the ideas and activities they are interested in. This means that I believe that children are naturally motivated learners and should have the opportunity to learn through their own explorations and through collaboration with other children and educators. I believe this can be done through both teacher-initiated and child-initiated activities and supported through play. I also believe that play is a natural and enjoyable means through which children learn. In my practice I aim to encourage children’s natural ...
This article begins by discussing the relationship between play and social/emotional development. A child’s emotional development is vital to developing into a healthy adult that can deal with all the stress and hectic lifestyle that accompanies life in today’s society. According to these authors, when children are exposed to child-led play they “increase their social competence and emotional maturity…. verbal and nonverbal skills… respond to their peers’ feelings… experiment with roles”(SOURCE!!!!). They skills that a child can acquire through the simple act of playing are essential to their healthy development. Children can “increase their social competence and emotional maturity” by learning how to relieve stress and cope with their feeling while playing. For example, a young child may learn that when they are sad, they can play with their toys in such a way that d...
Many theorists have tried to define play as a concept, however, no two agree on a set definition. Their backgrounds and induvial lifestyles influence the way they see the importance of play. Reed and Brown also believe that there isn’t an agreed definition of play because is something that is felt rather than done (Reed & Brown, 2000 cited in Brock, Dodd’s, Jarvis & Olusoga, 2009). In spite of this, it is clear that most theorists uphold the ethos that play is imperative to a child’s learning and development. There is a wide range of different studies and theories which helps us develop our own perception of what play is. In my personal experience I have found play to be a way of expressive our emotions, exploring and learning new things, thus
Thinking back on my childhood, I first remember all the times I played outside in my backyard. I would pretend to dig up dinosaur bones or create imaginary realms of ancient lands; there I would perform diplomatic services for the people in need. I was usually alone, and those are some of my fondest memories. When I first decided to become a teacher and thought about what is important to my philosophy on how children learn, I immediately knew I was a strong believer in play. Although, many decision makers such as legislators and school district leaders believe in more academic types of learning styles, my paper will discuss why play is so powerful and important to children.
Children have a natural inclination to play, alongside a natural instinct to learn and to be curious and inventive, which are characteristics of the human race in general. This quote taken from Janet Moyles is a good starting point for this essay. It is well known that children love to play. If a child were to be left to his/her own devices they would happily play and create new worlds anywhere they were left. It has been well documented and researched that children learn excellently through play. However they are not always given the opportunity to do so, instead being told to, ‘finish your work and then you can go play’. Obviously this is not always the case, but the fact that it is a common practice shows that we do not all fully appreciate the importance of play to children’s learning. This essay will attempt to show how children learn through play, making reference to current theory and practice. I will also give examples from my own first-hand experience of how children learn and develop as people through play.
The education of children has existed since the beginning of time as parents have taught and molded their children into the young adults they desired them to be. Initial training of children was not in a formal setting, although history would see numerous settings, purposes, and methodological changes. Philosophies of education have also changed through the years as various voices have seemed to grasp the purpose of educating the next generation, thus laying out objectives to reach those goals of teaching children.
‘‘Play is the most ideally effective form of developmental aid because the child becomes familiar with the world, himself, and his limits’’ (Sutton-Smith, 2001)
Many people who do not understand the importance of play for children and degrade the idea that children are allowed to play especially free play instead of structured learning activities. As those of us who are care providers and early childhood educators know; children learn as they play and, while playing, they learn how to learn. According to Sue Palmer, “Play is the name we give to children’s inborn wish to explore their world” (London, 2010). Tim Gill goes on to expand on this idea of play by saying, “They are kind of exploring uncertainty; they’re taking themselves beyond what they know and understand and into what they are curious about what they want to find out about” (London, 2010). These are great ways to think about how children
Why play is important to the holistic development of the child & your role as an educator to support the children?
In Kindergarten school, some parent believes play is the best way for young children to learn the conceptions, skills, and set a solid foundation for later school and life success. In the other hand, many parents disagree and believe play is a waste of time, messy, noisy, and uneducationall. I believe play is not waste of time, but it something worth to fight for, in this presentation I would show parent the main importance of some of the numerous kinds of play, and why play is a fundamental basis for improving children’s ability to succeed in school and life.