Teaching Philosophy It is my aspiration to create a learning experience for my students that supports them

Teaching Philosophy
It is my aspiration to create a learning experience for my students that supports them, encourages them and enables them to ultimately reach their maximum potential. In order for this to happen I believe that the focus must be on the whole child. I want to support children in an environment that will enhance each child’s emotional, social, cognitive, physical and language development.
Every child is unique. In a classroom, each individual child has a diverse set of abilities. Each child has a different personality, family background, various skills, talents, and interests. Appreciating diversity and showing respect for all learners allows teachers to accommodate the learning needs of each individual child. Teachers should design instruction that allows all children’s learning styles and developmental levels to benefit. I want to provide children with opportunities to explore, learn and grow at their own pace.
A teacher’s job is to provide guidance and assistance with the discovery of new knowledge. Inquiry learning, activating background knowledge, hands on activities, authentic situations and real world experiences is imperative for true learning. Engaging students in learning connects new learning and remains in a student’s memory to build upon.
There should be a focus on encouraging self-control rather than adult-control. This is cultivated using positive guidance techniques. Guiding children is about supporting children as they learn the difficult skills required to direct and manage their own behavior. This may include modeling behavior, encouraging expected behaviors, redirecting and setting clear limits from the beginning. Focusing on self-control allows opportunities for developing social skills such as cooperation, assisting others, and negotiation.
It is equally important to provide an environment that is conducive to learning. Creating an environment that is inviting, supportive and safe allows students to value themselves, one another and develop a sense of belonging. When children feel valued, enjoyed and safe they are better able to reach a positive self-concept. I believe by developing a positive self-concept children are able to reach their full potential.
I believe in student centered learning and learning through play. Children come to school naturally curious. It is important to encourage them and that includes providing opportunities for choice. If children feel they have control and are responsible for themselves it fosters not only cooperation but a desire to learn.
Finally, to provide students with the best education possible, teachers need to have an understanding of the learning process. They need to have extensive field based experiences, ongoing professional development and to be truly passionate about working with children. Being a great teacher requires dedication to the profession and the willingness to do whatever it take to help the children.