“Education is not something which the teacher does, but…is a natural process which develops spontaneously in the human being,” Maria Montessori. This Montessori based field experience class has been very eye-opening for me. It never crossed my mind before taking this class that being a Montessori teacher was even an option. I feel so blessed to have been able to learn so much in this class and actually be in a classroom, which gave me a hint of what my future holds. With everything I learned in class every week, I was able to implement it into the ways I interacted with the students and I believe that overall, I grew not only as a better prospective teacher but also as an individual. In my placement classroom at Eagle Peak Montessori School I have learned so much about the teaching style and individual needs of each child. I am grateful that the teachers trusted me enough to lead certain lessons with the students because it gave me the power to see what it would be like being an actual teacher. I really loved working at this school with Miss Sara and Miss Jennifer. Their students a...
During my experience as an Early Childhood teacher I have learned that by reflecting on my teaching practice I can modify my teaching approaches so that they are more intentional and effective. These
The Montessori educational approach began in 1907 with Maria Montessori. The method was originally created to benefit disadvantaged youths in the area around Rome, Italy. It quickly gained notoriety and popularity throughout Europe and into America. By honing in on the observation that children inherently learn through personal observation and interaction regardless of socioeconomic status Maria Montessori created a method that followed what children do naturally, explore (Larson). Nurturing these tendencies and encouraging children to not simply achieve academic knowledge but to strive for whole being education, through self exploration, mentorship and internal conflict resolution in a peaceful manner helps young children develop a stronger sense of self and awareness of those around them. Children are not simply “taught” but also learn how to “teach” others, fostering a quality that will serve them well in any environment. Instead of a teacher lead classroom, presch...
David Brody argues that the rise of contractual or collective bargaining relationships during the post WWII era formalized the relationship between employers and unions, but simultaneously began to put a break on shop floor activism. Explain Brody’s argument and, where relevant, incorporate Weber’s theory of bureaucracy.
For my second observation I was assigned Mrs. Megan McKee’s 1st grade class. Her class was very warm and welcoming. She is an amazing teacher that shows her kids that she truly cares for them and their education. She shows this love through her student-teacher interactions. An example of these interactions are when a student had a question about their math work she immediately stopped what she was doing and helped explain the work step by step although she has already done this multiple times. Another example I noticed was when a student accidently tripped over another student’s chair leg she easily calmed her down and took care of her. One method of teaching Mrs. McKee used was interaction stations. The students had 6 different stations that they would have a set amount of time at and then they would rotate when their time was through. The stations included coloring, shapes, math, online learning, tablet learning, and word work.
Mrs. Gerard has a wonderful and bright kindergarten class. The students are all unique and diverse in their own ways. A few students were of different races and ethnic identities. There were several different lessons taught throughout the field experience, as well as many different ways of evaluation. The teacher-student, student-teacher, and student-student interactions were excellent and Mrs. Gerard’s classroom management skills have created a wonderful classroom-learning environment to which you can see different theories being used.
Haskins, C. (2011). The gift of silence. Montessori Life: A Publication of the American Montessori Society, 23(2), 34-39.
Mrs. Kari Brandon is the teacher I aspire to become. She is passionate, smart, and driven. This is a teacher who knows that paper and pencil are not the only way to teach a child. She aims to be a teacher who makes a difference in a child’s life by teaching them to love themselves and school. She goes above and beyond every day in her classroom and devoted her life to teaching. The world needs more people like this who care and can make a difference—not just with how she teaches school, but also how she stood up for that little girl that suffers every day at home. She showed her that she is loved, she is valuable, and she is smart. Brandon’s teaching style goes to show that there are multiple ways children learn and being active and moving
What is depression? We all have heard someone exclaim that they are depressed, or that something is depressing, but what does that really mean? Depression is a type of abnormal behavior, or mental illness, that is classified as a Mood Disorder. For this particular Mood Disorder, the person suffers from an “unrelenting lack of pleasure in life”(King, L. (2012). This means that the person may not find happiness in things that would typically make them happy and/or that they may have fatigue or energy loss. There are many other diagnosable symptoms as well, but Depression is not simply ‘depression’ there are actually different types of depressive disorders.
People have had this fascination with technology long before there were any actual texts to write down our history. While the technology that humans had a few thousand years ago were not as advanced as what we have today, they were still toying with the idea of creating machines that would have the capability to make the similar, rational decisions that we do. It is only until the late 19th or early 20th century that the advances in technology have allowed people to put more emphasis on the question of when, because it is only a matter of time, humanoid artificial intelligence will outwardly simulate human emotions closely enough that we have to wonder if they deserve or be accorded the moral status of people.
During the Medieval Period, women were typically seen as inferior individuals that were put on the side and portrayed as damsels in distress always looking for a knight to save her life. Ladies possessed only characteristics like beauty, attractiveness, and grace and were expected to have no voice appearing only as a possession or prize of the brave Knight (Paris). The Medieval Ages was a time when women were totally dominated by the male members of their family. Men were seen as superior figures that had complete control over every aspect of a women’s life. Women were the property of their father and brothers until they were sold off or arranged to marry (Goldie 126). Even though women were assumed to have minimal roles in society, the role that women still had an effect on men (Root). In the poems Lanval and Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, going against the typical roles of women, the women were given an important role in society. The women in the poems were able to use their position to ultimately control the fate of the male protagonist. The women in the poems have a major effect on the chivalric values, honor, and status of the knights.
This essay examines the components that contribute to being an effective early childhood educator. Effective early childhood education has been shown to be an evolving and complex process, and is influenced by many factors. These factors include a deep understanding of the theories and philosophies of many pioneering and contemporary pedagogues, such as Piaget, Montessori and Vygotsky and studies emerging from Reggio Emilia in Italy. Researchers have found, that unless the educator is working in a specific theory based environment, for example, a Montessori school, or a school where Piagetian practice is implemented, the contemporary pedagogy will base lesson plans on a selection of these theorists idea's and concepts rather than the entire philosophy ( Edwards & Hammer, 2006).
According to Maria Montessori, 'In the special environment prepared?in our schools, the children themselves found a sentence that expresses their inner need, 'Help me to help myself.' ? (Standing, 1957). The ?prepared environment?, according to Montessori, consists of clean, bright, multi-sensory stimulating materials that are engaging for the child and that are placed in at their level so they can be accessed freely. There is a concentration on ?discovery moments?, defined as when a child learns new information through personal exploration (Fisher, 1964), in reading, math, social skills, and other subjects. The guided discovery approach means careful planning and direction for the child and that adults must know the purpose and meaning of each activity the child chooses in the classroom. Montessori teachers attempt to instill an internal drive into the children using this child-centered approach to teaching. An example of this is the use of mats or rugs in the classroom. Each child has a mat or rug to spread their materials out on. Every other child is respectful of this child?s space and he/she, in turn, is respectful of others. The result of this approach is a classroom full of self-monitoring students.
My cooperating teacher has been employed in the field of education for 19 plus years. She has been in her current position as a Pre-Kindergarten teacher at the Lighthouse Learning Center for 12 years. Observing a teacher who has so many years of experience in the classroom is very beneficial. She shared with me this week her teaching philosophy that has evolved from her many years in the classroom. The components of her philosophy include a focus on people, strategies, and tools.
This experience as a whole provided me with the opportunity to show my professional quality as an educator, a cooperative team member, and a lifelong learner. A few things that I continuously had to reflect on throughout this experience was my self-competence, my performance as well as the children’s, and of course my professional demeanor which directly impacted the effectiveness of my planning, teaching and...
Coming into this class, I figured we would learn about how to handle different kinds of situations from a teacher’s standpoint. As it turns out, the class is much more than just that. I figured there would be group discussions consisting of some controversial issues, but I had no idea how the course would make me feel as a person and as a future educator. So far, this class has brought to light the incredibly difficult decisions I will have to make as a teacher. Not only will those decisions affect the child and parents of that child at hand, but myself as well.