The model of teaching that has influenced my teaching philosophy is Maria Montessori. Montessori stressed the importance of classroom arrangement, allowing children to explore as they see fit. Children should be allowed to use everything and anything in the environment to further their emergent interests. The classroom environment should be calm, organized, and sequenced, but most importantly it is the children’s environment and they should be able to explore it as they see fit. Teachers are there to encourage the exploration of carefully selected materials, but they are also there to observe and make note of developmental advancement. It
is up to teachers to provide an environment that has stimulating experiences, helping children
reach the next level of development. From those experiences, from
physical to social interactions, that a child makes sense of the world around them. The environment includes shelves at children’s level and materials are accessible, labeled with pictures and words so children can be independent in choosing and putting away objects that they have used. The use of colors one would see in the natural world creates a calm environment, allowing children to be the true shinning, bright colors. Children have an innate, internal drive to learn, to communicate, and to practice what they learned through play and it is the Early Childhood Education Professional job to promote this exploration and educate others of the importance in child development.