During my first year of teaching, I was a first grade teacher in Chicago Public Schools. There was constant testing, worksheets, and homework. It seemed like the students were not happy, rather I was pushing them to get as much work done as possible and for a final result. My administration was very worried about the standardized test results, and teachers were rated based on these results. I quickly realized, teaching first grade is not for me. After this experience, I applied for a preschool position in a Catholic school in Chicago. I was so happy when I found out that I got the job! Now, fast forward to the current time of the pandemic and 2020. I have now been a preschool teacher for four years, and I absolutely love it! We play, explore, and learn all day together. It is an honor to work with four and five years old, and assist them in their development. When I think about my beliefs as a teacher, I think of 4 things that I truly believe in:
1. I believe that relationships between the teacher, the students, and the families are most important Thinking about my experience as a student, the teachers that I loved stands out to me the most. The teachers that created strong, meaningful relationships with me, stick with me. It is hard for me to remember the teachers that I did not like or the teachers that I felt that did not care about me. During the first few weeks of school, I focus on getting to know my students. Their strengths, interests, home life, and everything else in between. This process continues through the entire year but I feel like it is imperative to start this right away. One way I continue to build strong relationships with my students is having morning meeting every morning. We meet at the carpet, we greet each other, we play games, and we talk about our feelings. Our class is a family. 2. I believe that children learn through play Being a passionate early childhood educator, I strongly believe children learn through play. Young children should be exploring the world around them, while engaging on hands-on activities. Young children should not be forced to sit at a desk and complete worksheets. It is not developmentally appropriate. There are so many lessons to teach children through play, it is our job as educators to create and encourage the play happening in our classrooms. To encourage this, I create meaningful activities for my students to engage in throughout the day, that are hands-on, relate to our weekly theme, and that encourage play. Let them be little, meet them where they are, and let them play!
3. I believe that parents/guardians are the first teachers Our students go through many different experiences throughout their lives. They come to school with funds of knowledge and a repertoire of skills that they have already established. As teachers, it is imperative to view parents as the first teachers. We need to work as a team, there is so much that we can learn from parents, guardians, and families. To encourage parent/guardian engagement, I keep up with daily communication, send out weekly newsletters, create meaningful volunteer activities, invite families into the classroom, and ask many questions to learn from them. The parents/guardians are the first teachers.
4. I believe it is a teacher's responsibility to create a safe, loving, and nurturing environment My favorite thing about teaching preschool is that we have fun every day! It is my job to create a safe, loving, and nurturing environment for each student. I focus on what I can do help children fall in love with school. Safety is my number one priority, I make sure that I am keeping my students safe throughout the day. I focus on creating an environment where students feel safe to make mistakes, take risks, and try new things. I focus on making each student feel loved. I do this by creating the strong relationships, learning about them, and creating friendships. I also focus on creating an environment where students can grow and learn every day. Our classroom is a community and each child is apart of it.
*All of the students pictured have permission to be posted