Stacy Nims

ECD 105
Philosophy and Beliefs Paper
April 27, 2015

Teaching is a career for professionals. Professionals have to hold

themselves to higher standards than regular workers. A professional is a

trained individual who uses skills, good judgment, and polite behavior.
Teaching is a field that requires one to be professional. As a teacher, I will
strive to gain the trust of my students and parents by creating a good first
impression from the beginning of the school year. Being a professional
means looking the part and acting the part. Looking the part mean dressing
in a way that demands respect, being covered in a neat and classy way.
Professional teachers follow the code of conduct so that they are proper
models for the students. A professional should stay up to date with grading
the students work which allows the students and parents to see their
progress. A professional should treat coworkers and supervisors with
respect. Teachers need to be passionate, positive, and enthusiastic about
teaching. Teachers need to take an interest in every child and treat each
child with respect. Teachers need to include parents in the educational
process and encourage their support by consulting each parent.
Professionalism is always doing the right thing. Being a professional means
abiding by professional standards by incorporating all of these areas.
Learning is scaffolded to enable students to build on previous
knowledge, create new knowledge, and independently apply skills as well as
understanding. Children learn when the classroom and school environment
supports their emotional, social, cultural, and educational needs. The
children will have a desire to learn when they feel respected and there is a
positive relationship between the child and teacher. Teachers need to believe
that all children can learn. Teachers need to create an environment that will

make the children excited about learning. Teachers need to provide learning
experiences and materials that are interesting and challenging. Teachers are
role models and guides for learning and achievement. They listen,
encourage, and are accepting of students at each phase of development.
Teachers play an important role during the course of the childs
schooling experience. The teachers role will greatly impact the childs
academic and social development throughout his schooling. A teacher has
the opportunity to enable children to feel safe and secure in their learning
environment by creating a positive relationship. When teachers form a
positive relationship with the children the environment becomes a supportive
place where they can actively engage in various ways. A positive relationship
starts by getting to know the childs family structure, the interests, and
dislikes. Knowing all of this information will help the teacher prepare lessons
that are individualized and that will maintain the interests of each child.
Having an idea of each childs likes and dislikes helps the teacher know ways
to motivate and engage the children. The teacher needs to model respect for
the child so that the child will develop a mutual respect for him/her. With a
positive relationship and mutual respect, the teacher can help the child reach
his/her potential and maximize learning.
The teacher needs to build a partnership/working relationship with the
assistant, parent/guardian, and director. There needs to be constant
communication between the teacher and the assistant. In addition, there
needs to be frequent communication among the teacher, parent/guardian,

and director. Establishing relationships with colleagues, parents/guardians,

and directors helps create a very positive and supportive learning
environment. When relationships are established with parents/guardians,
trust is formed which leads to more productivity and success for the student
and the teacher. When the teacher partners with the parents/guardians, it
makes all aspects of education better because the parent will follow through
and support what the teacher says, and the teacher will be sensitive to the
concerns of the parents/guardians. When this type of partnership occurs,
behavior issues will be minimized and academic outcomes will be
maximized.
The child has a major role to play in the classroom as well. The childs
role is to be the sponge to soak up knowledge gained from the teacher and
the classroom environment. The childs role is to follow the instructions of
the teacher. By following the instructions of the teacher, the child is showing
the teacher mutual respect. The child is to do his best in whatever is asked of
him. The child is to utilize the teacher as the teacher is a source of
information, so if the child runs into any problems or has any questions, he
should talk with the teacher to gain understanding. The childs role is to
follow the teachers lead. The teacher is the leading/guiding person, and the
student is to be the follower/worker. The child is encouraged to give his
opinions and to ask questions if he needs clarification. The child, whether
he/she knows it or not, helps guide the learning. The lesson is based upon

the child, so the progress of the child determines what will or what can be
taught next.
The environment plays a huge role when it comes to behavior,
learning, and guidance. A structured, clean, and organized environment is
where optimal learning can occur. In order to produce successful children,
the environment must be safe, positive, free of clutter, and child friendly. The
teacher sets the tone for the learning environment, so the teacher is in
charge of making sure that it stays neat and clean. A schedule is created by
the teacher to create a predictable environment for the children. A
predictable environment provides the feeling of safety for the children.
Materials should be organized in such a way that everything has a certain
place, and the children should be able to reach the materials for easy access
as well as easy clean up. Materials should be labeled and child-sized for easy
location/use. Once the physical environment is set up, it is the teachers job
to set the tone for the emotional environment. The teacher will set limits not
a list of dos and donts. The teacher will create a predictable routine so that
the children are not uncertain of what is to come next. The teacher should
model positive behavior to set the tone for a positive environment. Using
circle time to get to know the children and talk about their feelings and
emotions helps to create that positive, safe learning environment which will
help children reach their full potential.
The teacher is the positive guidance counselor of the classroom. The
teacher sets the tone with how he acts and responds to children as well as

adults. Teachers are the models that the children see daily, so it is their job
to instill respect and positive attitudes. The teacher uses teachable moments
to help children understand the correct course of action to take when
problems arise. The teacher also creates lessons that will address friendship,
sharing, manners, and any other values or beliefs that are important in
helping to create a positive environment. The teacher is supposed to be a
safe haven for children so that children feel like they can talk to their teacher
about anything. Children need to always feel safe, loved, and cared for by
their teacher. The teacher needs to let the children know that sometimes
things happen that we do not like or sometimes accidents happen, but we
have to approach those things in positive ways so that despite what
happened everyone can learn from the situation.
The teacher is also an interventionist. There are times when the
teacher has to intervene if the children are not able to work out their
problem. Teachers need to step up to help talk the children through the
conflict so they can work together to come up with a solution. Giving
students immediate consequences is not the way to solve a conflict. Hearing
all sides of the story and guiding children in making better decisions helps
the children to become lifelong problem solvers (If a physical altercation
occurs, getting to the bottom of what caused it to happen needs to happen
first then the child needs to see that violence was wrong and that there are
better choices.) Children need to be taught that if they have tried to resolve

a conflict, but it is not working, then they need to come to the teacher to
help them before the problem gets out of hand.
My personal beliefs about guidance have changed a great deal. Before
this class I believed that children who do wrong need to be immediately
punished and that all misbehaviors were a result of a childs poor choices
and had nothing to do with the teacher. Now I know that the teacher can be
the leader and a more positive guider to set the tone for relationships and
learning. Building relationships is key to establishing a successful learning
environment. Learning environment plays a big role in guidance and student
behavior. Having a neat, predictable, and positive learning environment
helps children develop and learn. Guiding a classroom means setting limits
and clearly communicating those limits so the children understand them.
Positive guidance means redirecting children, applying active listening, using
I-messages, and applying the 6 steps to conflict resolution. To effectively
guide children in the classroom, I need to supervise, interact, facilitate, and
model for the children. All children learn and develop at different paces, so
a teacher needs to be able to accommodate all learners from beginning
levels to advanced levels of development. All children are not equipped with
the same personalities or learned responses, so a teacher I have to be
prepared for all types of personalities and responses. As a teacher I can
predict when problems might arise, so I will be sure to plan activities/lessons
that will allow children to have the opportunity to have their own materials
and provide opportunities to share. One of the biggest things that I have

learned is that reflection is key to improving teaching. Each time I have

observed or had the opportunity to teach, I have been able to see areas that
I would do differently next time so that the lesson will produce optimal
outcomes in learning.