Teaching Philosophy
 

I'm applying for summer counselor positions at local pre-schools, and I was asked to write a paragraph on my teaching philosophy.

As an 18 year old who has worked with kids but has never set foot in a classroom (as a teacher, of course!) and is not an education major, I am at a loss for what to write. I was wondering if anyone has any tips for what kinds of things to include, or questions I should answer in my mini-essay?

in this case, I would think about who you would be teaching. What would be the best way to teach them?

A paragraph isn't asking for tons of information - just trying to get a sense if you understand developmental concerns for your clientele, and how you would go about helping to foster it.

Google teaching philosophy - read a few - and go from there.

Hope that helps.

Thanks, that helps a lot! Only thing is, I won't be teaching, which is why I was kinda confused - its just normal summer camp stuff, arts & crafts, swimming, etc.

If you're in charge and you're in a classroom, young kids will see you as a teacher, even if that isn't your title. My guess is the camp organizers want their applicants to be aware of that from the get-go.

Good luck!

Think about how pre-schoolers learn. Are you ever interacting with them without teaching in some way? If you're doing arts and crafts with them, you will be teaching them skills.. social skills as well as task skills: gluing, cutting, organizing a task, cleaning up, etc. Those are all learned skills for that age group. You won't be teaching them calculus, but you may be teaching them all kinds of things.

I'm set now, thanks again!

Some Ideas...
 

Read Jerome Bruner's "The Process of Education" Harvard Press. He is actually well-known for his philosophy on education. He actually breaks it down how he believes others should view education.

You can always also look at John Dewey (known as the Father of Education).

If you are working with really young kids, you should check out Urie Bronfenbrenner because he was a co-founder of head start. He believes in the Ecological Systems Theory. It actually breaks it down into various systems for you.

Those three, particuarly Jerome Bruner or Urie Bronfenbrenner, are very helpful and can be done in a step-by-step manner. Good luck!