Philosophy of Education

My personal view on child development, in relation to the learning environment and childrens
abilities, has been influenced by the theorists Howard Gardner, and Maria Montessori, as well as
the Reggio Emilia approach. My goal as an educator is to use my environment to set a stage for
children to reach milestones, and learn the foundations suitable to their development and age in
the Indiana Academic Standards
Gardner believed in multiple intelligences. He believed children could learn the same
information but required the lesson in different forms. The Reggio Emilia approach allows kids
to lead the lessons. An invitation is made for the child to explore and use their natural methods
of development to show what they need and how they process information. Maria Montessori
believed children need structure and organization. She believed children learn with their senses
and enjoy working with beautiful products. Her teachers were to guide and direct lessons, not
control. Every child was to develop at their own pace without competition from peers.
Combining the three, I believe allows the perfect environment as an early childhood educator.
By making an invitation, an educator can watch as the children approach and observe what they
are touching, what makes them think more critically, and listen as their questions develop as
advised in the Reggio approach. Making observations allows the educator to assess which of
Gardners seven intelligences are being used or the combination of intelligences a child might
select. At this point, it is important to guide or direct the child to move deeper in their
exploration or play. Utilizing Maria Montessoris belief in organization, structure, and beautiful
products only enhances the environment. Developing a space where everything is available to the
children in an organized manner will allow them to gather materials and supplies to deepen their
learning experience on their own.
In my opinion, the purpose of education is to measure each child against their previous skills to
see how they have developed and what they have retained from the curriculum presented. It is
the educators responsibility to effectively observe and assess each child to determine their
intelligence for learning, as well as create and implement a curriculum to meet their abilities. It
is equally important to measure each educators progress as they learn to adapt the environment
and curriculum to a variety of learning styles as they present developmentally appropriate
activities to their students.