Philosophy of Early Learning - Essay Example

Running Head: PHILOSOPHY OF EALY LEARNING Philosophy of early learning Name Institution Date Introduction Individuals have different perceptions concerning children, the aspect of childhood and the functions of child care and early learning. Due diverse perspectives concerning children and their learning process, a lot of ideas and actions have been undertaken to ensure that the best strategies are utilized in facilitating learning and developmental process of children. The first eight years of a child are very crucial because the child is basically undergoing the process of trying to understand their identity, it is therefore important that that a teacher as a facilitator of learning should have view points and knowledge that can enhance effective child development. Children I believe that children are capable of exploring their learning environment effectively if only the environment is made more suitable and appropriate for learning. In my perspective what can be defined as a quality early learning process must have a suitable environment for nurturing and supporting the child’s social, emotional, physical and cognitive development. Children below eight years have great potentials of exploring their environment as a means of learning. It is therefore important that as a teacher I should have skills to device an appropriate learning environment because most of the basic learning strategies for children can best be derived from the environment, this include aspects such the play and facilities for demonstration of concepts (Jones 2001). My second believe is that the curriculum used to educate children should be specifically tailored to meeting their age requirements. Children of different ages have different interests, developmental tasks and needs. For instance a child of four years can not have same interests as those of six years old. Diversifying the curriculum in terms of age is essential in order to cater for the needs of different ages. Jones (2001) highlights that as Dewey proposed, learning should be based the interests of children to enhance active involvement in the process. The skill that I should possess in order to meet the requirements of the curriculum is to give tasks to children that are age specific. Families I also believe that the healthy development of a child depends on the aspect of security and trust towards the caregivers. This particular perspective is important for early learning because the trusting relationship developed between the child and his caregivers is actually a base for the child to feel secure and thus learning becomes much easier. In addition the aspects of security and trust give the child a chance to develop a deeper relationship and furthermore have a greater understanding of how diversified people are (Lew & Bettner 1996). Due to the fact that the healthy development of a child depends on the security and trusts that a child has towards the care givers the qualities that a teacher requires include being honest when dealing with a child, this will enable them be assured that the teacher can be trusted. The second attribute is to make sure that action and words match. The implication for the families is that as highlight by the in 2005 by the family commission, it is essential that a child is not exposed to aspects such as child abuse or even violence between partners, in order for them to develop security and trust towards adults, thus it becomes much more easier for a child to also trust the teacher. Secondly I believe that the needs of a child should be effectively catered for in order to enhance proper learning. As highlighted by the Maslow hierarchy of needs, the satisfaction of needs governs effective learning. For instance the physiological needs such good health, sleep and nutrition are fundamental essential for enhancing learning. The qualities that a teacher should have in terms of meeting the needs of children is that even within the school environment the teacher should have skills of taking care of the children by ensuring that they feed properly and are healthy. The implication on families is that provision of a child needs as highlighted by the Maslow hierarchy begin in the family or at home it is therefore essential that all needs are first of all provided within the family context ( Katz & Chard 2000). Myself as a teacher I believe that children require play as a fundamental aspect of learning and development. Play can be described as a building block of intellectual development. For instance mathematical concepts can be acquired through play, language acquisition through socialization and also development of diverse motor skills such as painting and building which can assist them progress in their class work. The qualities that a teacher should posses in terms of using play as a learning strategy is to ensure that a suitable environment to facilitate play is developed by provision of all necessities that are required to enhance maximum exploitation of play by children for instance toys that are age appropriate. The implication to me as a teacher is to ensure that the school environment is always safe when children are playing. In addition as a teacher I should not deny children play by concentrating much on class work, due to the fact that play is virtually an essential element of learning ( Porter2008). My second believe is that children should be reinforced in order to enhance effective early learning. Young children basically learning from everything that is done to them or everything they do. The teacher should therefore use motivation as a strategy of encouraging children to learn. Extrinsic motivation such as the use of presents when a child does something correctly is a suitable mechanism of reinforcing children, as a result the child would want to perform the same activity more and more. The qualities that I need to posses as a teacher include the aspect of using the right motivational strategies which can enhance both extrinsic and intrinsic motivation in children ( Porter2008). The implication of this to me as a teacher is that it is not always enough to reward or reinforce young learners through the use external motivators. As a teacher I should also identify methods of enhancing internal motivation in children due the fact that it’s impacts can be felt even in the future life of the child as the grow , for instance they can develop a positive self esteem. The early childhood field I believe that the early childhood curriculum should be able to support the experiences that children go through. This factor is essential because children below the age of eight are usually exploiting their environment to trying and make meaning out if it, therefore the curriculum should be geared towards expansion and interpretation of the experiences of young learners. The skill I should possess as a teacher is to be knowledgeable about the curriculum and how to implement it in order to ensure that leaner’s experiences are well developed. The implication on the early childhood field is that the program standards outlined in the early childhood field should focus on devising a curriculum that effectively caters for the experiences of young learners (Arthur 2008). Secondly I believe that children can learn better if they interact more with their teachers or fellow learners (Olivier 2002).The Importance of this particular factor is that the pedagogy used in teaching should facilitate more interaction between the teacher and the learner or the learner with other learner, this will facilitate easier learning as opposed to when a child is learning individually. As a teacher it is essential that I ensure that more interactive pedagogical strategies are used in learning as opposed just giving learners instructions and letting them learn individually. Wider community I believe that child development not all about the brain but rather development of a Childs totality. Other attributes that a child should get from the learning process include aspects such as honesty, love, submission to authority, consciousness of ones actions and kindness. This particular attributes are essential due to the fact that they will assist the learner fit in the wider society as they grow. The school learning environment should not only be a facilitator of intellectual development but rather it should ensure that children equipped with skills for societal living (Dockett, & Perry 2006).As teacher it is vital to teach children through practical attributes of good behavior that are required for effective living in society, for instance teaching children on the importance of sharing through practical means whereby the teacher use demonstrations. The implication of this aspect to the wider society is that if a child is well trained with an aim of fitting in the wider society, the implication is that society will have lesser problems such as crime and all sorts of social misconducts. I also believe that for effective early learning requires all stakeholders in the life of a child to coordinate in order provide a comprehensive approach for in a Childs developmental process. Parents, teacher, curriculum developers and the wider society should ensure that the learning process is effective. As a teacher I should have effective communicate and coordinate with other stakeholders such as parents in order effectively understand the children in my class. This will give me a chance of knowing how to deal with each learner. References Arthur, l etal. (2008). Programming and planning in early childhood settings (4th ed.). Victoria: Thomson. Dockett, S. & Perry, B. (2006) Starting school: a handbook for early childhood educators. Castle Hill: Pademelon Press Lew, A. & Bettner, B. (1996) A parent's guide to understanding and motivating children. Sheffield: Conations Press. . Jones, E, etal . (2001). The lively kindergarten: Emergent curriculum in action. Washington, DC: NAEYC. Katz, L.G., & Chard, S.C. (2000). Engaging children's minds: The project approach (2nd ed.). Stamford, Conn :Ablex MacNaughton, G. & Williams, G. (2004). Techniques for teaching young children: Choices in theory and practice. (2nd. ed.). Sydney: Pearson Education Australia. Olivier , N. (2002).Contemporary perspectives of early childhood curriculums . Sage. Perry, R. (2004). Teaching practice: A guide for early childhood students (2nd ed.). London: Routledge Falmer Porter, L.(2008). Young children’s behavior. Practical approaches for parents and teachers. Marrickville: Elsevier. Read More