Maria Montessori

Maria Montessori is one of the greatest names in education. The concepts of Maria Montessori can be tied back to her faith which she felt very strongly about. According to Montessori, the teacher must always pay attention to their student compared to the child paying attention to the teacher. The child moves at their own pace in an environment controlled to provide means of learning. Imaginative teaching materials are the heart of the process. Each child is self-correcting and this enables the child to make their own mistakes. It is said that if you were to look into a "Montessori Classroom" you would see "controlled chaos". This is said because each child would be working on whatever learning task they chose. When Montessori taught other teachers she would tell them, "When you have solved the problem of controlling the attention of the child, you have solved the entire problem of education." Her thought process of education and teaching are something that I agree with. I love the idea of "each child is self-correcting." I agree with Montessori when this is the idea because it is true that the child will make their own mistakes and then learn from them. Teachers are meant to guide their students not do things for them.

Don't turn a blind eye...

The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act states that child abuse and neglect include physical or mentals injury, sexual abuse or exploitation, negligent treatment, or maltreatment (1) of a child younger than eighteen years of age (unless state law specifies a younger age), (2) by any person responsible for a child's welfare, (3) under circumstances that harm or threaten a child's health or welfare.

Abuse is something that can happen to anyone. In many cases the abuser might be someone who is not responsible for the child's welfare. In some cases teachers may not want to get involved but what they have to keep in mind, besides the fact that they are legally obligated to say something, is that this child's innocent life is at stake. Not only are they at risk of being injured by their abuser but they may also be harming themselves. Sometimes the teacher might even get themselves in a bind if their accusation ends up being false; in this case, it is better to be wrong than have the case of abuse hanging over your shoulders for the rest of your life.

Participatory, Experiential... Helpful or distracting?

"Traditional classrooms often leave little room for student involvement and initiative. In a "rethought" classroom, concepts need to be experienced firsthand, not just read about or heard about. Whether through projects, role plays, simulations, mock trials, or experiments, students need to be mentally, and often physically, active. Our classrooms also must provoke students to develop their democratic capacities: to question, to challenge, to make real decisions, to collectively solve problems." (Introduction: Creating Classrooms for equity and social Justice, pg. 1)
Coming from first hand experience, I have always been more interested and involved when in the classroom we were able to be hands on. I believe that it all depends on the student and the way they learn. Being a dancer I need to see things and demonstrate with them to grasp an idea or have it actually stick in my system. Having the children participate and experiment in the classroom during learning time also keeps them stimulated, intrigued, involved, and focused if the pace is not too slow. Many children find that they keep themselves more involved in the learning process when they have hands on assignments rather than sitting at a desk and just listening. By sitting and listening they quickly become uninterested. For some other children, they find this method of learning or teaching distracting because they seem to not focus as well. They feel as if there is a lot going on around them and they don't know where to draw their attention.
I feel as if participatory, experiential learning can be helpful or distracting mostly depending on the student and the learning environment.

Out of all philosophies, which seems more attractive?

I seem to be so drawn to Pragmatism. This is because it is closest to "common sense" which is something that children should learn early on especially to succeed in the real world. The goal of pragmatists has been to seek wisdom, or truth, by thinking about the consequences of having particular beliefs and acting on them. The emphasis of individuals to create their own reality is something that is relatable. Pragmatists also believe that children should learn how to make difficult decisions by considering the consequneces their actions might have on others. After reading through about pragmatism I found a quote at the end of the section. It states "Education never ends-it is a process that continues throughout one's lifetime. People are instruments of change, capable of experiencing, experimenting, and testing their beliefs." I was extremely attracted to this quote because this is something I strongly believe in. I believe that you never stop learning. You learn something new everyday and if you're not learning then you're not living. People change everyday and each day we experience new things and experiment. The goal of education, the role of students and teachers, the teaching methods, and subjects studied are all ways that I would go about teaching and believing in.

Education is like a Dance ...

As a dancer and a hands on learner, I have always compared my dancing to my school work. In my lifetime I have learned over 300 pieces of choreography and in school I have learned too many pieces of information to even recall. As a dancer each dance has many, many different steps that at the end of the music all come together to create a piece. I feel like all the information we learn are like dance steps; we have to practice and review all that we learn but at the end of the unit we are tested. Usually when our dances are finished we are able to perform.
Just like education and teaching there is a certain way to teach and learn each step. Teachers of dance must also take the same considerations as teachers in the classroom. Anything that is new needs time to set in and also children learn in different ways. Some pick up the material very quickly while others may need more time, it is a teacher's responsibility in both situations to see what methods work best for their students. Just like my school teachers I spent a good amount of time with my dance teacher and in both cases my teachers new just how to keep me intrigued.
When all the steps and information are practiced and performed perfectly we have a well oiled machine!