Hello Everyone!
I first would love to start this blogging experience out by introducing myself. My name is Kylie Funk. I am studying Early Childhood Education at Millersville University. The fall of 2021 is my expected graduation date.
One reason I would love to be an educator is because I was impacted by a teacher I had. In fifth grade I was assigned with Mrs. Seaber. Up until 5th grade I had amazing teachers, but I seemed to struggle in school. I always felt as if I was behind the other students. In fifth grade when I met Mrs. Seaber this had all changed. I felt now that I was understanding materials because she was connecting it to everyday life.
In our classes we are taught that students learn best when they are given stories that relate to their personal lives. It’s the connections that help us understand more. This is exactly what Mrs. Seaber did. When instructing history lessons she would connect the lessons to our life or tell the best stories. Somehow by this point I felt everyone understood what she had been explaining. This was a turning point for me and it made me excited to come to school and hear the next story.
Mrs. Seaber was not only my fifth-grade teacher, but she was also the director for the school musicals. She was very much into theatre and worked with many of the kids who were involved in this program. As well as keeping track of students who were involved in activities that weren’t just music related. This to me shows that she didn’t just care about her students in school but also outside of school. Someday I would love to be just like her as she doesn’t just care about the student’s work and how they do but is also interested in how her students outside of school. Today Mrs. Seaber has retired but is still the director for the school’s musicals and is also a substitute teacher for the school. Her and I still keep in contact to this day and communicate frequently.
Many teachers who we feel influenced by have similar responses to our philosophers have had on our education. Similar to Mrs. Seaber’s teaching methods John Dewey had many ideas that were child-centered. Several of his philosophies are expressive and constructive activities, integrated curriculum, and creating a classroom community environment. He was primarily known for being the professor of philosophy.
His idea of creating content that was matched to the ideas of how children learn best was one of his ideas along with Mrs. Seaber’s. Mrs. Seaber loved to share stories and knew that children learn best when they are given examples or real life stories. John Dewey thought this was an important factor of education. He also had wanted learning to be surrounded around what children learn, hence the phrase child-centered. Mrs. Seaber had followed this as she wanted to teach ideas that students were most interested in. She felt just like John Dewey that these experiences will catch each and every students eye. If you would love to learn more about John Dewey and his life experiences.
As a student at Millersville I feel everyday we are given strategies that can help us achieve the attention and love of students. One of my favorite’s was in Dr. Himmele’s 485 class we had learned about Total Participation Techniques. I feel that these techniques are great as they help each student gather their thoughts and process it out loud, on their own, or with a partner. Along with Mrs. Seaber I have also loved his ideas of teachings and would love to use these in my classroom someday.
As I finish my degree in Early Childhood Education, I am preparing the ideas Mrs. Seaber sought as an Elementary Educator along with discovering my own philosophy I aspire as an educator. I would love to be the teacher that cares for each students life beyond the classroom and takes interest into what they are doing. This I feel is an important aspect to a teacher. My goal as a future educator is to someday create a learning environment that strives to reach every students goals and abilities.