Growing up I always, always loved school. I don’t remember a moment where I didn’t want to be a teacher. The person who sparked my interest in becoming an educator was the one and only Ms. Frizzle from The Magic School Bus. A cartoon character can be a guru, right?! Ms. Frizzle always amazed me with her wild (but unrealistic) adventures she had with her students. Ms. Frizzle fully submerged (quite literally) her students into each and every lesson she created. I always thought that if only I could engage my students HALF as much as she did my students would learn so much. Yes, I realize some of the teaching strategies Ms. Frizzle utilizes are very unrealistic (obviously, it’s a cartoon) but if you look at the bigger picture you’ll see the importance of hands on, fully immersive teaching.
As an educator there is an overwhelming amount of theorists and theories to choose from. The main theorists’ pedagogy that I would say has helped shape me as an educator today would be Abraham Maslow. Maslow’s hierarchy of needs describes the different levels in which a child needs to achieve to succeed in school. The base of the hierarchy is the child’s basic needs in order to survive. These needs include air, water, food, sleep, shelter, etc. As the child achieves these needs they then move upwards towards safety needs, love and belonging, esteem, and self-actualization. Without achieving these steps the student will struggle to succeed in school. A child cannot move from one step to another without fully satisfying the previous level. In other words, if a student does not have the food/nutrition that they need then they will not feel safe and so on.
Thankfully, I have amazing professors at Millersville University to teach me the ins and outs of being an educator. They share insight on their experiences and fill you with so much resourceful knowledge. But, I can’t give them all of the credit. On February 10th, 2017 I was blessed to start my job at an amazing early learning center (ELC). I have 2 amazing bosses, one being a 2007 Millersville grad. It’s really resourceful having a boss who went through the same education program and knows exactly what you’re going through. When I started at my ELC, I was initially placed in the toddler classroom which really allowed me to understand and focus on child development (spending 9 hours a day with toddlers 5 days a week can drive you nuts but also teach you a lot). I was then honored to accepted the position of PreK teacher in our building. I have had that position for the last two years. Being a PreK teacher in my own independent classroom with 10 children while going to school has advanced my education far beyond belief. Here, at the ELC I have began developing new truths and insights with the guidance of my director, Katie. Aside from school, at my job I have learned how to create real lesson-plans based on my students needs, built skills in parent/teacher communication, positive behavior reinforcement techniques, general classroom management, working with others, collaborating with director and owner, etc. I am beyond thankful for the job I have and the experiences it has given me. I can only imagine who will help me along the rest of journey. Will it be my future employers? Future grad professors? We shall see!
Source:
Maslow, A., & Lewis, K. J. (1987). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Salenger Incorporated, 14, 987.