Guiding Children’s Behavior

Personal Guidance Philosophy

I believe guidance is an ongoing process. Children learn to control their impulses, express their
feelings, channel their frustrations, and solve their problems through guidance from parents, teachers
and other adults. Guidance is an interactive process where children learn to be responsible for their
actions, make wise choices, learn thinking and reasoning skills, learn to use words to solve problems and
teaches life skills. Using a guidance technique in the classroom also helps children feel safe, respected,
and gives them a positive self-esteem.

Children are unique individuals. Their behavior is related to their DNA, temperament, culture and how
they are raised. These things also make everyone special in their own way. I believe children are like
sponges, they absorb everything around them. They learn by watching other children and do as they do.
If one child gets up from the table at lunch time another child is likely to follow. If one child comes to sit
at circle time the other children will follow. Children also learn from the reactions of other children.
Lilian Katz says that a general principle of social development is the recursive cycle. Whether a child is in
a good or bad recursive cycle their behavior will be reinforced by other children’s reactions and then the
children will continue that behavior. Children also learn through play. When children play, they test their
ideas, learn new skills, problem solve, communicate and learn how to get along with others. Play builds
children’s social emotional skills and confidence.

I believe it is important to teach children social and emotional skills in the early years. This will help
them have positive relationships as they grow. A teacher’s role is to guide children’s behavior through
conflict by showing them how to express anger safely, modeling positive behavior, and teaching
cooperation and empathy skills. I will do this by teaching children to be respectful of other children’s
feelings and enjoy each other. I will acknowledge how the child is feeling, be it mad, angry, shy, happy or
excited. I will show the child how to handle his/her feelings and teach him/her how to express
himself/herself using words. I will offer children choices so they will feel like they have some control in
their life. I will use observations to plan activities and experiences to teach social and emotional skills
that will help with classroom behaviors. I will build a positive and caring relationship with each child and
accept and welcome all children, so they know I will be there for them when they need me. I can show
caring by my tone of voice, facial expressions, a soft touch or kind look, listening and using encouraging
words. I hope that children who are taught in a guidance classroom will become positive, caring adults
that care about their families, and the people around them. I hope that they learn to live in peace and
can solve problems by working together and being creative. I hope they have a healthy sense of self and
enjoy the world around them.

I will meet the needs of children by planning activities that will help them learn and grow at the
developmental level they are at and with the things that they are interested in. This helps with guidance
by keeping the child engaged and not frustrated by asking them to do something that is too difficult for
them or something that is to easy that they may get bored. I will also have a cultural environment that
will include books, pictures and toys from various cultures, so everyone feels welcome in my classroom.
I will give children encouraging feedback by asking open ended questions like, “What do you like about
the picture you made, or Tell me how you built that,” instead of saying, “nice job.” I will use I noticed
statements, like “I noticed you are wearing your spiderman shoes today.” This helps a child feel good
about themselves when a teacher notices something and is not only offering praise. When a teacher
offers encouragement, the child focuses on the process which will help him/her reflect on their own
work.

The physical environment of a classroom, if not set up appropriately can contribute to mistaken
behavior. A classroom that is crowded, not developmentally appropriate and does not have centers that
interest the children can cause conflicts. My classroom environment will be a supportive atmosphere
that will help children explore, develop social skills and learn how to solve problems. The environment
will be developmentally appropriate, have enough toys and space for everyone, with centers of interest
for the children. There will be few transitions and with a predictable routine in the daily schedule. When
there is a behavior problem, I will use observations to see if the classroom environment or daily
schedule is contributing to the problem and then make the necessary changes.

A teacher must remember that the child’s family is the child’s first teacher. Parents and teachers
need to work together as partners and bridge the differences between home and school. I will build a
positive relationship with families by greeting parents at drop off and pick up, sending home daily notes,
using phone calls, home visits, parent teacher conferences, and inviting parents into the classroom when
needed. When a positive relationship between parents and teachers is developed it is easier to have the
tough conversations about guidance and mistaken behaviors.

Guiding children’s behavior and teaching them social emotional skills is an important job for the early
childhood teacher. A favorite quote of mine is “A child’s life is like a piece of paper on which every
person leaves a mark.” I take this job seriously and hope that the children under my care grow up and
become positive, healthy, interactive students and adults who will contribute wonderful things to
society.