Miss Kelly’s Educational Philosophy - OCPS TeacherPress

Miss Kelly's Educational Philosophy

I believe in being amazed and amused and intrigued by children.

I believe in laughter and wonder as valuable school supplies.

I believe that the construction of knowledge is a very personal process, not given to the guidelines of text book companies and state mandates. Learning will come when it comes and not a moment before then. My job is to set up the forum and situations which invite that learning to occur and then to act as an assistant to the learning process.

I believe in teaching children how to peek behind the curtain of mystery that veils the learning process.

I believe that conversation and friendship are powerful tools of learning. There is inspiration to be had in children's conversations with each other. Conversation really is the workshop of discovery.

I believe that teaching is a craft. It is not an exact science - it is an art form which requires nurturing and patience as it grows into something new. I have a duty to get better at this -to improve myself, to act as an apprentice to those who are better at it than I am, and as a mentor to those who want to grow with me.

I believe that the world these children will enter as adults is not the world we see before us now. Preparing them for today is certainly not enough.

I believe that the famed global economy is not the arena that will be most valuable to these children. The arena that will inform them and reveal them is the dinner table for that is where the stuff of life can be found. That is where the child who will become the leader will find the words she will need to convince others. That is where the child who will become the healer will find the ear he will need to listen with compassion. That is where the child who will become the citizen will find the belief in The Power of One. That is where the child who will become the artesian will find their muse. That is where the child who will become the parent will find love in abundance.

I believe in collaboration above competition.

I believe in the effort of guiding children into becoming life-long learners by encouraging the qualities of wonder, curiosity, questioning, and scholarship.

I believe in discovery and awe and in not knowing all the answers.

I believe that what I do is important and valuable ? to this generation and the next.

The education of a child takes place in the kitchens of family homes, around dinner tables, at bus stops, in places where strangers gather, in the noisy huddles of children's games, in supermarkets

and places of worship, on the playgrounds, in the car pools, in the waiting rooms,

and in classrooms.

As an educator I am permitted to lend a hand in a small part of each child's journey.

That is a precious gift and I am grateful for the opportunity to serve children who will one day serve others, help run the world, and live meaningful and peaceful lives.

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