Early childhood education is no doubt the most essential aspect of human learning, considering that it lays down the foundation for higher learning (Montessori 34). For this reason, I give a lot of prominence to my personal philosophy of early childhood education because in one way or another, I, as an educator of young learners, am the custodian of many futures. Worth mentioning is that our philosophies of learning are always shaped by the research and understanding of the views of various gurus and theorists in the field of early childhood education. Speaking of aligning personal philosophies with the views and principles of theorists in the field, my personal philosophy of early childhood education is rooted in the ideas of Maria Montessori – a theorist whose approach has been defined as the perfect method for the needs of children growing up in the contemporary circumstances.
My personal philosophy of education in early childhood is based on the presumption that all children are equally gifted with the potential to learn and absorb culture. I, therefore consider it my duty to create a productive environment, or what Montessori could refer to as the positive elements of culture. Basically, my philosophy is rooted in the belief that nurture prevails over nature when it comes to early childhood learning and development. This basically means that children’s development is determined by the environment rather than such natural elements as genealogy and inheritance (Montessori 65). It is for these reasons that I always believe in creating a positive environment one which can enable a child see everyone around them as a teacher. Montessori clearly states that children learn from the environment.
Simple as my philosophy may seem, I always endeavor to align it with the Montessori Method. According to this method, education is not really about learning various subjects, but rather about the teacher, or the director, as Montessori calls us, creating qualities that cultivate the desire the learn. The qualities that define my philosophy of early childhood education include self reliance, strong communication and coordination capacities, creative self expression, self confidence, concentration, work habits that are orderly; persistence is completing assigned tasks, and initiative. These are the elements of culture that I emphasize in teaching young learners. A culture that embraces all these qualities will create the desire to learn – a quality that Montessori describes as the foundation of learning, especially in children of the ages between 0 and 6 years (Montessori 91).
Summarily, my philosophy of education in early childhood learning presumes that the brain of a young learner is like a sponge. Just like a sponge has the capacity to be soaked in water, so is the brain of a young learner capable of absorbing elements of the environment or the culture created in the classroom. Learning, according to my philosophy, begins at birth. According to my theorist Maria Montessori, the age between 0 and 6 years is the age of discovery. It is within this bracket that the children learn and discover new things. For this reason, I believe that the potential of the young learners should be developed wholly. Developing the potential wholly means that the teacher or the director should ensure that the children are mentally, socially, physically and emotionally developing by the day. This may mean that a teacher should not only impart knowledge of reading and writing, but also monitor that social and communication skills of the children. Montessori argues that the all-round development of the child’s potential upholds the philosophy of Education in Harmony with Life (Montessori 112).
Works Cited
Montessori, Maria. The Montessori Method. New York: Cosimo Classics, 2006. Print.
