The process of writing my Educational Philosophy was not as difficult as I imagined. I had in my mind that it would be challenging to come up with lofty ideas that might just be unrealistic in my real classroom, but pleasing to an academic society. As I thought, it occured to me that I was actually living and doing what I believed in every day with my students. How could anyone do otherwise? So, what I found out about my educational philosophy was that by organizing my thoughts and feelings, tying those in with my knowledge of young children, and evaluating my daily performance as a teacher, I was able to sift through the words and document what was most important to me as an educator. This exercise in declaring my philosophy of teaching and education will help me in the future as an aid in reminding me that I am on the right path, I do have a purpose in the classroom, and there is a map in which to follow when I veer off on my more difficult days. It allowed me consider how best to use future knowledge as well as the past knowledge accumulated over years of experience. It reminded me that even though child development remains the same for all students, the classroom is evolving all the time. My educational philosophy will not be a stagnant document. As I refer to it from time to time, I see that writing down ideas, goals, wishes, and truths are all helpful in making me the most effective educator I can be. I can also imagine a more interactive relationship with my students as I might be able to encourage them to create similar outlines of their goals and perspectives. Even in kindergarten, a student can dictate his thoughts as I "write" them down. We do it all the time with paper and pencil. Now online, a parent, administrator, etc... can see for themselves what positive directions can be taken when a student and teacher strive together to learn.
In reference to Downe's article, Educational Blogging, I do not feel we as educators and students have met our potential in the use of available technology today. Understanding as he said, "the end part of the educational process" is not the technological hardware we implement, but instead, working toward a knowledgeable learner with strong critical thinking skills. Today, we still use very few tools to engage students in collaborating with the world around them. In fact, I suspect there is very little engagement between educator and student, as well. Learning in isolation still exists in most schools and institutions. By bringing lessons learned and connecting those ideas into a real world experience, we have just lit a fire for more knowledge!
In November's article, I was drawn to the second area of change in education and technology. The idea of live video cameras in classrooms is not a far jump from what I have been implementing for years. As a kindergarten teacher, I have always maintained an open door policy for my students, parents, visitors, and administrators. I teach with my door open and welcome all who wish to observe and participate in the classroom. Having a video camera would reinforce and add to the positive environment inside the classroom. By inviting others to contribute to the learning experiences of the kindergarten children, we can open up even more possibilities for evaluating and synthesizing information. Besides, at that young age, the students need all the new life experiences they can get. I would like to provide that interaction in a safe environment.
During this course, I would like to address some of my fears of not understanding the current technological environment young people use every day. I would like to explore new ideas and find new uses for the tools I have in my classroom. My school is not very advanced in the use of interactive options for the students. I would like to work through my hesitations in creating informating educational opportunities for my students. Connecting home, school, and the world sounds interesting. I need to learn more and work to be at ease with exploring.
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