My Educational Philosophy

I believe that the early years are a special time for growth and development for children. There are a wide variety of factors that contribute to a child’s development such as the developmentally appropriateness of a program, certain environmental conditions, the managing of their fundamental needs and the role of their teachers in the classroom. As educators, we must respect each child and help meet their fundamental needs in order to provide them with the best opportunities to explore and fulfill their potentials.

Developmentally appropriate practices are teaching children by matching their practices with what we know about their development. It is important for educational professionals to be well trained with the knowledge of how children develop and strategies to help reach each child’s full potential along with theoretical framework for his or her work. Teachers must be familiar with the social and cultural context within which children are being raised. Teachers must respect the emerging abilities of young children without imposing inappropriate expectations. We must understand that each child learns differently and that we should provide differentiated instruction, several different activities to tap into each child’s unique way of thinking and understanding concepts.

There are certain environmental conditions that help to develop the child’s full potential and also to prevent social, emotional, and mental disturbances. Essential environmental conditions include: adequate food, shelter and clothing, air and water, and a temperature allowing for safety and comfort. Children need to be provided with responsible supervision, and prevention and elimination of illnesses, disease, and injury. With these conditions in consideration, there are more opportunities for each child’s growth.

Children learn best in an environment that promises learning. A good environment is safe and orderly, contains a wide variety of stimulating equipment and materials, and is organized into learning centers. A good environment communicates to the children that they are in a good place and that the people care about them. Such environments satisfy each child’s desire to learn and act on their curiosity.

Children learn best when their fundamental needs are met. Some of these include: security, love, respect, safety, freedom to explore actively, communication, pride, confidence, and competence, and the opportunity to enjoy life through play and recreation. Children need to feel secure and loved, to be accepted and respected as individuals. They need to be protected against physical, moral, and social hazards. They need to be provided medical attention and prevention against disease and illness. They need to be given the opportunity to explore the world through their senses. Allow children to explore freely and to interact with other children. Provide opportunities for children to develop their communication skills through language, art, music, and science. Children gain independence and develop self-confidences by gradually learning how to handle problems and how to deal with relationships with other people. Children enjoy playing spontaneously. It is important to give children the opportunity to have experiences that will allow them to engage in their interests and to better understand the world in which they live.

Educators need to be given the same quality respect that they are expected to provide the children. The education professional needs to be more than just a kind, and loving person who likes children. I believe that a good teacher respects childhood and strives to preserve and celebrate it. A good teacher is sensitive and understanding when it comes to the emotional, social, and cognitive needs of the children in his or her care. They have the ability to anticipate and plan, problem solving skills, and are able to facilitate social interactions, parent-child separation, and parent-family involvement. They care unconditionally not just for the child but for the whole family.

Ch.13 - Your First Year as a Teacher

Going through chapter 13 really put things into perspective for me. “Wow! This is really happening!” We read all this stuff about the teaching profession, we take classes to learn different methods and approaches to teaching, we go through all this training and then here we are at chapter 13, telling us to go for it!


The one thing I liked best about chapter 13 was the list of ideas or things to add to your teaching portfolio. I mentioned on the last day of class during my “Why I Want to Become a Teacher” presentation, I talked about my experience with the Association for Childhood Education International (ACEI). Being apart of a professional organization like ACEI is not only rewarding but it really looks good on paper. They give you opportunities to be apart of so many events where you get to interact with students and help out other local organizations such as Island Girl Power. The photo here was taken at the LBJ Elementary Night with the Stars, on February 21, 2008. To find out more about ACEI visit them at aceiuog.blogspot.com.


I took ED192 - Practicum: Observation & Participation. It really was an eye opener for me. It was a good experience observing different grade levels in the Guam public schools. This was the point in the time when I decided that I never ever want to teach middle school students ever! Haha. Just kidding! We’ll see! I thought I’d share with you this 3D model I made of a classroom I had observed. This was Mrs. Frances Respicio’s 5th grade classroom at Finegayan Elementary School in spring of 2005.

Ch.12 - Technology, Teaching & Learning

On page 439 of the 4th edition there is a picture of a boy in front of a bunch of TV monitors and a caption that reads, “Today’s world is fast-paced and technology-dependent, making technical fluency necessary. How technologically fluent do you consider yourself? Do you think most schools are prepared to address today’s technology needs?”

This made me think of the public schools here on Guam. I graduated from JFK a few years back. I’m not too sure how things are now but from what I can remember, we had very little computers in our school and most were outdated. Not a lot of students knew where the computer lab was and if they did, they rarely used them because they were so old and slow. I remember going to school in San Diego. I always heard complaints from my peers that their school was “ghetto” but little did they know how good they had it. They had at least one good quality computer in every single classroom.

Guam really needs to step it up in the technology department. One of JFK’s ESL’s or expected school-wide learning results is that their students become technologically literate. Computers are definitely a good way to start out. I know it’s easier said than done but as far as I know, it seems as if incorporating technology in the classrooms has been on the back burner for GPSS and the priority is textbooks. But then again, that’s just as far as I know. Do any of you know if GPSS is doing anything at all to try to incorporate technology in the classrooms?

Ch.11 - Curriculum & Instruction

According to Morrison, in his 4th edition of Teaching in America he states:

Nondirect instruction is any form of instruction that is not transmitted
directly to the students by the teacher. The teacher’s role is to structure
opportunities for students to advance their own learning. Thus, nondirect
instruction includes learning that students acquire on their own through
reflection, experimentation, or discovery. It also includes learning that
students acquire through interaction with other students in peer-mediated
instruction, such as group investigation and cooperative learning.

When I get into my classroom I think that I’ll use both direct and nondirect approaches. There will be times when I will tell my students directly what I want them to do but for the most part, I would want them to figure things out for themselves. Once I feel that they’re comfortable working on their own and they’re comfortable with my expectations of them, I would like to focus more on nondirect instruction. I believe the best teachers teach their students to teach themselves! That’s one of my goals for my students.

Ch.10 - Standards, Assessment, & Accountability in Education Today: Redefining Teaching & Learning

Standardized testing. What is this trying to say about our students? That everybody is the same? Standardized? There’s no such thing. With standardized testing comes controversy. Especially being here on Guam, our students are not exposed to a lot of things the mainland students might be exposed to. Even on the mainland there may be some conflict. Afterall, the culture in a small town like Alamogordo, NM may be very different from a big city like Santa Monica, CA. Even somebody living in Brooklyn, NY will be exposed to things somebody in Manhattan may not be exposed to. So where do we draw the line when it comes to putting these standardized tests together?

Who comes up with these tests anyway?

Ch.9 - Historical & Philosophical Influences on Teaching & Learning in America

You all should check out the Montessori schools here on island. It is anything but your traditional American classroom. There is one in Mangilao, down the street from UOG, next to New Young Market. It’s called the Chalan Pago Montessori School. I have no idea why they named it that when it’s located in Mangilao. The director and founder was not trained in Montessori but they follow the curriculum. If you want the real deal, check out the Harmon Montessori across the Micronesian Mall. If you’re not too familiar with Maria Montessori’s methods, you’ll really get a kick out of this school. It’s always interesting to observe different learning techniques. I hope you enjoy the video clip above. It gives you an overview of the Montessori methods. Seriously!.. Put this on your list of schools to observe for your practicum class if you haven’t already taken it!

Ch.8 - The Legal Basis for Education & School Law

Before I read Chapter 8, I already had my whole heart set on becoming a teacher. Nothing was going to stop me! There are a lot of challenges that come along with the teaching profession, a lot of legal details to deal with. But what would life be without challenges right? Helping a child out and making a difference in a their life could never amount to any of the hassles teachers have to deal with. Knowing that that child’s life is that much better, that more enriched because of you is beyond rewarding and beyond anything the court room has to throw at us! Bring it on!

Ch.7 - Political & Economic Influences on American Education

On page 231 of the fourth edition, Morrison talks about the roles of the national government in education. I was reading the guidelines in “Making the Grade, Everything your 2nd Grader Needs to Know” and it mentions military families. I just thought I’d share this with you:

“Frequently moving from location to location can be exhausting for families with one or more parent in the military. If you have school-age children, it can be even more complicated. Schools across states and U.S. schools in other countries often don’t follow the same curriculum, and states often can have varying curriculum requirements for each grade.”

The Department of Defense Dependent Schools (DODDS system) is responsible for the military educational system. I think this is a good system for military families who don’t have to worry about changing curriculums and transferring grades every time they PCS. I thought this was interesting because I remember what it was like transferring from a public school into a private school here on Guam and also transferring from JFK (Tamuning, GU) to Mt. Miguel High School (Spring Valley, CA). Having the same curriculum in DODDS schools makes it easier for their students to adjust to new places and new schools.

Ch.6 - Partners in Learning: Parents, Families, & the Community

For Chapter 6, Roslynne & I presented “Family-Centered Teaching.” The main idea for this section was that in order to provide for the needs of the students, the needs of the family unit must be met first. Students have a hard time focusing in class when there are bigger problems going on at home. In “The Ron Clark Story” for example, Mr. Clark visit’s the home of a little girl in his class. He tries to get her to work on her paper but as he can see, she has many responsibilities children her age don’t typically have. She had to watch over her little brothers and cook them dinner while her mom, a single parent was at work. Mr. Clark went the extra mile for this student, stayed over to help her watch her brothers and cooked them all dinner.

He later talked her mother into arranging that her sons stay a little longer with their sitter so that her daughter could have more time to study & focus on her school work. At the end of the movie, she was awarded for having a perfect score on the SATs. Now, we may not be able to go to that extent for every student but the point is that there are so many students out there with so much potential. Sometimes all they need is a little motivation and some time to work on it.

It is very important to collaborate with your students’ families, to know what’s going on in their lives outside of the classroom so that you can provide whatever extra assistance you or your community can help with. Know your community. Know your resources and take advantage of them because that’s what they’re there for!

Ch.5 - Teaching Exceptional Learners & Students at Risk

“Students at risk,” so that’s what they called me. I had my daughter when I was 15 years old, I guess that puts me in that category. As far as strategies to help students at risk like myself, I believe prevention should be at the top of the list. It makes sense right? If we as a community do everything we can to prevent teenage pregnancy, or anything for that matter there would be no need for or a lesser need for any other strategy such as transition programs, alternative schools, intervention & compensation programs & so forth. I believe that we should tackle these issues early on at the elementary level rather than waiting for kids to reach middle school or high school to teach them about sex education. We do that with drug abuse but not so much teen pregnancy.

I’m not saying that we should teach a five year old how to properly put on a condom but we should allow our children to be comfortable about talking about their bodies and any concerns they might have. When children hear the word “sex” they give this funny look or they’re embarrassed to say it. Not in my house! In my house, I teach my children that sex is a beautiful thing but when you’re ready of course. Otherwise, none of us would be here right? I just pray that they’re not ready until they’re at least 70 years old! But anyway, the point is… I want my children to feel comfortable talking to me about anything: sex, drugs, boys, whatever! Our kids are going to have questions eventually, if they can’t feel comfortable talking to us parents, they’ll seek answers elsewhere: friends, strangers, the media, etc.. I don’t know about you, but I want to be the primary influence on my children when it comes to those sorts of things!

Prevention!.. As with everything else, it all starts at home!

Ch.4 - Teaching Diverse Students

I think that it’s important for teachers to be multiculturaly aware of their students and the different backgrounds that they come from. It’s important to take the time to really get to know your students, their families & the community they live in so that you can better provide for their special needs in the classroom or to better understand their points of views as it may conflict with your teaching. Take a look at Ron Clark, going the extra mile by visiting with families & working with them for their students’ success.

Reading through this chapter made me realize just how complex teaching in a single classroom can be, especially on Guam where we have so many different ethnicities here. But it doesn’t stop at ethnicities. As a teacher you have to be aware of the different socioeconomic backgrounds, family structure, sexual orientation, primary languages, & also what genders your students identify with. Here on Guam, you get a little taste of all of that!

Check out this video clip of the movie, "Freedom Writers" based on a true story of one teacher's journey in bringing her classroom of diverse students together.

Ch.3 - How Schools Are Organized and Linked to Society

Chapter three goes on to explain the purposes of schooling and how they are linked to society, how they are organized and structured to meet the demands of the times they are in. For example, in the fifties after the Soviet Union launched the space satellite Sputnik, national defense became a top priority and educational organizations shifted towards science and teaching students how to think. Today, the focus of education is for students to achieve high standards in an effort to make the United States more economically competitive.

Chapter three also mentions looping, a nontraditional approach to learning in which the teacher moves from grade to grade with the students. I’ve never experienced or seen looping for myself but I can see one major advantage to this program. At the beginning of the school year, the teacher spends less time getting to know the students and the students spend less time getting comfortable with the teacher and his or her classmates because they already know each other. This allows for more time and more productive instruction because the teacher is already accustomed to each student’s individual learning styles and can better prepare lessons.

Ch.2 - Teaching as a Profession

Is teaching a profession? Yes! The professionalization of teaching involves certification, accountability, ethical practice, high practice standards, collaboration and shared decision making, increased knowledge base, and challenging teaching. Chapter two introduces the various educational organizations dedicated to ensuring that every teacher candidate progresses to be highly qualified by setting high standards for maintaining certification.

For example, The National Board for Professional Teaching Standards lists it’s five core components as follows:

1. 
   Teachers are committed to students and their learning.
2. 
   Teachers know the subjects they teach and how to teach those subjects to students.
3. 
   Teachers are responsible for managing and monitoring student learning.
4. 
   Teachers think systematically about their practice and learn from experience.
5. 
   Teachers are members of learning communities.

I believe that it’s important for any profession to maintain a set of standards that is relevant to the times and to the society they live in. Things change, people change, therefore standards must change.

Ch.1 - What It Means to Be a Teacher

I really enjoyed reading through chapter one, it gave us all an overview & a general idea of what it means to be a teacher & what it takes to be a teacher.

It was interesting to read the teacher profile on Beverly San Agustin, the Guam Teacher of the Year. Not only was it interesting to see a teacher from Guam make it into a textbook such as Teaching in America but she makes some very good points on the essence of being a teacher. She states that a good teacher is passionate, resourceful and innovative, encouraging and optimistic, flexible, entertaining, humorous, compassionate, a leader and a mentor. I like how she stresses that a good teacher is entertaining, creating lessons that allows students to make a connection from the classroom to the outside world.

A good teacher is committed to her students, taking advantage of all available resources to meet the needs of the students.

I wanted to include this video clip that Heather refered us to because I think it's awesome! Check it out!...

The Ron Clark Story - Movie Commentary

In the film, The Ron Clark Story, teacher Ron Clark demonstrates a lot of positive behaviors towards his students. Not only does he attempt to teach his students but he goes far beyond the walls of the classroom to gain a better understanding of his students, their families, and the community they live in. Mr. Clark shows his students that he genuinely cares about them and believes that they can learn and achieve big dreams by taking risks.

There are many events that took place in the movie that inspired me as a future educator. I can honestly say that at the moment, being as I am still in training, I don’t know if I have the confidence to volunteer to take on the challenges that Mr. Clark has taken.

Mr. Clark takes several steps towards reaching out to his students. He visits with their families in attempt to involve them in his students’ learning. He related their learning material with their interests, the “President’s Rap” and the chocolate milk event for example.

Before being able to do that. He had to first manage his classroom. He set basic rules. One, that they are a family which means that they don’t leave each other, they look out for each other & stand up for each other. Two, that they respect each other. Anytime that something happened in the classroom that conflicted with the basic rules, Mr. Clark had his student’s come up with additional rules of their own.

He puts effort into reaching out to his students to inspire them to believe in themselves. He shares personal stories with his students then has them light a candle as a symbol of their faith in themselves and their commitment to try their very best to succeed.

Teaching Standards - Commentary

Alignment of Objectives with Standards and Assessments

As a result of taking this course (Intro to Teaching) the student should be able to:

1. Describe what it means to be a teacher; identify teaching as a profession; & describe how schools are organized and linked to society.

2. Understand how students, families and communities affect the culture of a school.

3. Describe the influence of historical, philosophical, political, economic, and legal issues on education.

4. Identify current trends in teaching and learning related to standards, assessment, accountability, curriculum & instruction, and technology.

5. Describe the reasons they have chosen to enter the field of education.

Education based organizations have come together to form a set of standards for teachers. The standards identifies specific knowledge, skills, dispositions and beliefs that support accomplished teaching. The University of Guam’s School of Education, the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC), Guam Teacher Professional Standards, and the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards are just a few of the organizations that have put together a detailed listing of teaching standards. They are organized in different ways but they all cover the core objectives listed above. As more and more research is conducted, the standards are often updated to represent modern teaching strategies.

Setting standards for what certified teachers should know and be able to do does many things for teachers and their professions. It sets the foundation and gives the teaching career a professional image. It acts as a guide for teachers throughout their practice to take responsibility towards their students, their families and the communities that they serve in.

Why I Want to Become a Teacher

Why do I want to become a teacher? Well, why not? I do it everyday. I have two children, my oldest being seven years old and my youngest being two years old. Everyday with them is something different. Everyday is a learning experience on both ends. We learn different things from each other. Just when I think I'm teaching them a valuable life lesson, they turn around and teach me one.

Let me take you back to when my daughter was about two and a half years old. I held a crayon in her hand and wrote her name on a piece of paper. We did this all the time to leave her mark on her art work as all great artists do, even the ones that somehow ended up on walls and doors. I eventually invested in a dry erase board to save our walls. I told her that it was time to sign her name. I helped her out, of course, but afterwards she did something that moved me. She wrote her name, each letter very carefully all on her own!

I can't begin to explain to you how "cool" that felt. I went on teaching her how to write different letters, different words then on to how to count from one to ten, her colors, shapes and so on. Every time she mastered something new it felt just as good as the first time. It was exciting to see her learn new skills. It made me want to teach her more. This was a feeling I grew to love.

To this day, she still remembers that her mommy was the person that taught her all these things. She still acknowledges and gives me credit for teaching her various skills. That is why I initially wanted to become a teacher, to have the opportunity to teach and influence other children just as I did for my daughter. I wanted to invest myself in a career that will allow me to change lives, doing that through the diverse challenges of the classroom will not only be fun and exciting but extremely rewarding for me.