Paste your essay in here…Tory Fernandez
Child Development 2
October 11 2018
Philosophy Paper
Developmentally appropriate practices play a key role in early education, where it expresses that it is care and education that is responsive to and mindful of the development of the whole child. DAP plays an important part in teachers qualities and responsibilities to children and their families, guiding children’s behavior, curriculum, qualities of an indoor and outdoor environment, and how professionalism and reflection is a tool for growth.
Working with children has always been something that I’ve wanted to do. I enjoyed seeing them learn and how happy they were to have learned something new. I want to become a pediatrician later in life because making a difference in a child’s life whether it’s helping them physically or mentally is a reward within itself. I want to learn more about children’s health, what is good and what is bad for them to take in. What kind of medicine will be the most effective, and will help the child the most. What I can bring to this field is enjoyment and knowledge; encouraging the child to learn about what they can do to keep themselves physically healthy.
The teacher plays many important roles for the child. The teacher will act as a nurturer where they provide a sense of comfort and security for the children, and also having deep respect and appreciation for each child equally. The teacher acts as an observer when setting up a developmentally appropriate environment and interacting appropriately as children play. As a facilitator, the teacher should be able to understand the needs of each individual child. The teacher should know what works and what doesn’t work for the child. Note taking, portfolios, etc have a key part where the teacher acts as an inquisitor; this also means that the teacher should ask open ended questions to the children encouraging them to express their own opinions rather than making an answer for them. The teacher should also be a good communicator with the children and their families. When communicating with children, it’s important that you come off as approachable with open arms and a warm smile. Some children may be more shy than others, so small gestures like closed arms and even a mean look will discourage the child to come up to you. When communicating with parents, it’s important for you to be just as warm and welcoming as you are with the children. Keeping strong communication with parents will build trust, and it encourages the parent to express certain things about the child that may be helpful when teaching them.
Guiding children’s behavior is a very important part in early childhood education. There’s many things that teachers have to consider and constantly review to make sure the child understands. One of those behaviors include helping the child learn self regulation. When it comes to self regulation, it’s important for the teacher to serve as a role model because children achieve self regulation by learning from others, specifically the teachers, parents etc. What we can do to help young children develop self regulation is providing assistance that supports children’s independent effort, allowing individual choices among appropriate learning activities. Another type of behavior that will serve as a key role among young children is Pro-social behavior. Pro social behavior is the behavior that demonstrates, empathy, cooperation and altruism. Children learn pro social behavior when the teacher encouraged the child to identify their feelings and the feelings of others, demonstrating care and concern for others, developing warm and caring relationships; and handling challenging situations constructively. One method for guiding behavior is anticipating problems. By anticipating problems, you must consider that the children will have a variety of interesting things to do, that there is appropriate time to engage in activities. One skill that is important to have is developing “teachers eyes”. What this means is that we are always aware of what goes on in and out of the classroom; being watchful of big groups, small groups, and individuals. Anticipating problems also means that you must come up with spontaneous decisions to a child’s need.
An indoor environment has many qualities that make up a beautiful and splendid classroom. A classroom should include many different centers that will enhance children’s play, such as music, math and science, sensory, art, dramatic, manipulative etc. Each and every one of these centers provide a key part in a successful education. The teacher should have many safety issues that he/she will be aware of inside the classroom. The teacher should be aware of the choice of toys and materials that they allow the children to play with. Toys should be nontoxic and evaluated by the ASTM for guaranteed safeness. The teacher should also be aware of the type of equipment, and furnished that he/she puts out in the classroom such as flammable fabrics, loose and slippery rugs that would serve as a hazard to children. Having a successful indoor environment also means that it should be aesthetic; which is the set of principles concerned with the nature of appreciation of art and beauty. We should keep aesthetics in mind when designing an indoor environment because it helps us to keep the classroom visually pleasing by arranging the room so that the focus is mainly in the children rather than the classroom. For example we can enhance the environment with natural objects and materials, avoiding clutter, and making sure that storage units such as shelves, cabinets are sturdy stable and low enough for the teacher to see over it.
An outdoor environment should have the same qualities as an indoor environment when considering safety issues, aesthetics and arrangements. An outdoor environment is a valid curriculum area because it provides the children with a various amount of learning experiences that goes back to learning how to self regulate, how to become pro social, etc. A safe outdoor environment should be secure with stable playgrounds, and also free of hazards such as broken glass, cigarette butts, etc. It should also be safely equipped and appropriate for the children to play with. An outdoor environment should also encourage the children have safe risk. Which basically means that they do challenging activities that could require an illusion of risk taking. Safe risk is key to an enjoyable outdoor environment because in encourages the child to develop a sense of right and wrong. An outdoor environment should also encourage the different domains of development such as physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and creative. For example, if a child wants to push her friend on the swings, that shows the physical, Her pushing, and it shows the social, The child communicating with her friend.
The curriculum that I chose was Reggio Emilia’s. Reggio Emilia expresses that children learn through a systematic focus on symbolic representation. Emilia’s approach encourages the child to represent their own environment and experiences through drawing, painting, working in clay, etc. The goals of Emilia’s approach is that it encourages the child to work collaboratively in a community, also helps the child to develop potential, and symbolic languages. It also encourages the child to lead the class rather than the teacher; this makes the teacher a co collaborator rather than a leader. I personally think this approach is appropriate for kids because it encourages the child to explore independence which could serve as an inspiration for the child to become strong leaders as they grow older. DAP is an important concept to keep in mind when setting up curriculum because it helps us to consider age and developmental appropriateness, which means that we should teach the children things that are appropriate for their age. DAP also helps us to consider cultural appropriateness, which is significant when teaching about certain foods, and clothing, this will help us to make sure we include all cultures.
Being a teacher also has a very important role in professionalism when communicating with colleagues, continuing education, and having professional behavior. When communicating with our colleagues, we always want to make sure that we’re respectful and considerate of every aspect. Having a good relationship with our colleagues will not only make our job easier and more enjoyable but also improve the schools program for children. Continuing education also serves as a key part in professionalism. Continuing to learn about children through conferences, workshops, classes, etc. will help us to become better observers, nurturers, facilitators, and inquisitors for our children. Professional behavior is a very significant part in professionalism. Some behaviors that we want to keep in mind when becoming a professional is having advanced skills in collaboration, having a good work ethic, and keeping a positive outlook. Having these behaviors in check will help us to become the best teacher we can be.
Working in this field requires lots of attention and care. Teachers must learn to be an advanced nurturer, observer, facilitator, inquisitor and communicator with children and their families. Teachers must also serve as a role model for children when helping them to develop good behavior. Having a successful indoor and outdoor environment will also have a significant effect on our children’s education. There are many things that teachers must keep in mind when putting up a successful classroom. We are teaching the next generation, so we always want to make sure that we give them the best experience we can.
WORKS CITED
Feeney, Stephanie, et al. Who Am I in the Lives of Children? An Introduction to Early Childhood Education. 10th ed.