Running head: A Teachers Perspective

A Teachers Perspective
Aaliyah McGraw-Jones
Ivy Tech Community College

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A Teachers Perspective

I am doing my student service learning at IPS George Washington Carver Montessori

No.87, where Mrs. Margaret Dinn is a kindergarten teacher. I have been having the pleasure of
volunteering in her classroom where she and her students have welcomed me with open arms.
Not only have they done so, but so have the principal, administrative staff and other teachers.
Upon my visits, I had the chance to sit down and talk with Mrs. Dinn about her
experience as a teacher. I had a series of questions to ask her, and she gave me some pretty useful
information. Mrs. Dinn has been teaching for teaching for 44 years. She has taught every grade
from kindergarten all the way up to 12th grade. She also taught grades K-8 Title 1 reading and
math. I was very amazed by this because I havent met a teacher that has taught every single
grade and then some. I asked Mrs. Dinn, Why did you decide to enter teaching? Her response
was very understandable. She replied I always wanted to be a teacher. I decided when I was in
the third grade. I had younger brothers and sisters, and I enjoyed working with them. I just
always knew I wanted to be a teacher. I then asked Mrs. Dinn what she believes to be essential
qualifications of a teacher. She responded with Tell me the first one again, *laughs* I giggled
along and read her the question again. She told me that the love of children comes first. I simply
agreed. There is no way you can be in a teaching profession without having a heart for our little
ones. She then told me that patience and self-control are the most important to her when it comes
to working with young children. I also agreed with her on this one. I have never understood why
some people enter into education if they dont have the patience for children. Seeing all these
things happening in daycares always has tons of questions running through my head. I read her

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the second part of question two and her response was that youre really working 24/7 with
tremendous demands. In other words she means that you have to work with the children in a
school setting, you have to plan and come up with ideas and that youre never off duty. She then
added Ask anybody who is a married to a teacher or who lives with a teacher. My kids and
husband will tell you she is always doing something that has to do with her job. I listened and
also agreed with her on this. I agreed with this because previously Ive worked with kids and I
know theres a lot that comes with it. Every time you go into a store, you see something that you
want to pick up for your classroom. Everywhere you go, you see something that reminds you of
the kids that you deal with.
We continued on with our interview. I asked Mrs. Dinn, How do you maintain
confidentiality and liability within your classroom when dealing with parents? She answered me
this. Be careful how you phrase the things you say, never diagnose and just give suggestions.
And just in case, belong to a professional association so you have the insurance that will cover
you if there is a liability issue. I agree with her greatly on the never diagnose answer. Its never
safe to try to tell a parent what you think is wrong with their child. Some parents think that
someone is out to get them or that someone is trying to tell them how to be a parent. I have
worked in various settings with children, and Ive seen where a teacher or counselor has selfdiagnosed a child. They never end on a good note, and someone is always offended. Making
suggestions is always the easier route. This all made sense to me. My next question for Mrs.
Dinn was, How do you support the family of your students in their home? And she quickly
answered, As much as they inform me, I try to help them get any services the might need. And I
try to support them with homework and after school activities. After school activities can help a
child in many ways. For instance, when I was in the 8th grade, we had I-step coming up. My math

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teacher was concerned about my math and wanted to make sure I passed the math portion of the
standardized test. She recommended after school math tutoring. Taking her advice, I went. There
they gave us replicas of what the math portion would look like. I studied and tutored hard for two
long weeks, but I also passed my math portion with flying colors. I then asked her how she has
developed the teacher/family partnership, and does this approach differ from her own cultural
background. She answered yes and that teachers have to get to know the families of their
students to see what theyre comfortable with. My last question to Mrs. Dinn was What role
have you seen diversity play within your school on a national scale. She said People from
different cultures have different customs and things that are important to them within in the
United States. Then when you have people that come from other countries then thats an added
language and culture issue. I believe Mrs. Dinn relates to this question very well because she
has a greatly diverse classroom.
I am placed in a school thats based off of Montessori Education. The Montessori
Education program was worked and written by Dr. Maria Montessori (1870-1952). Dr.
Montessori had strong beliefs that a truly educated student continues his/her learning long after
the hours and years he/she has spent in the classroom because theyre motivated by a natural
curiosity and love and knowledge. She also believed that early education shouldnt fill the child
with facts from a pre-selected curriculum, but rather to foster the growth of a childs desire to
learn. On the Montessori program, the children learn by hands-on experiences. Everything thats
in a Montessori classroom has a use and a purpose. Everything in the classroom can be seen and
touched by the child when it comes to their learning. In such a busy and productive environment,
freedom, responsibility, social and intellectual development greatly prospers. The way a
Montessori classroom is set up is in what we call stations. Stations that include activities in

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math, language, writing, science and other subjects. Also in a Montessori classroom, children are
placed in multi-age classes. For example Pre-K-K (pre-kindergarten-kindergarten. The mixed age
groups give off role models and leadership experience. Montessori Education has been compared
to Traditional Education in many ways. A Montessori student is very adaptable. He/she can work
by themselves and in groups, just like a student from a school based on Traditional Education.
Being encouraged to make decisions on their own from an early age, Montessori students are
problem solvers who have learned to make the right decisions. They also learn to manage their
time well, exchange ideas and discuss their work openly with their peers. Their communication
skills makes it easy for them to adapt to different settings other than their own. Research proves
that the best predictor of future success is a GREAT amount of self-esteem. Not conceitedness
SELF-ESTEEM. See, Montessori and Traditional Education complement each other well. Also, I
personally like the Montessori program. It was different for me seeing the classrooms without
individual desks, because thats what Im used to. But I see how the different station set ups, and
hands on work helps the kids learn better. The fact that they can actually visualize and touch a
math problem helps them retain information much easier.
Spending time with these kids, the teachers and in the school makes me so happy. It
brings much joy to me. I have known since I was in 5th grade that I wanted to be a teacher. And
being in an actual classroom setting, standing on the other end made me realize that I made the
right decision career wise. People try to give grief to those studying education like saying You
know teacher dont make a whole lot of money, right. Im aware of that. But teachers make
enough to live, and Im not in it for the money. Im in it because children are my passion, and
there is nothing that can be said or done to change my mind. Ive heard it all. And having a
Pinterest account doesnt help because Im already finding ideas for my future classroom.

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Reference Page

2016 American Montessori Society. (n.d.). Maria Montessori Biography. Retrieved

March 02, 2016, from http://amshq.org/Montessori-Education/History-of-MontessoriEducation/Biography-of-Maria-Montessori
Our Montessori Option. (n.d.). Retrieved March 02, 2016, from
http://www.myips.org/domain/103
Kolb, K. (2016). Healthy Self Esteem is Essential in Successful Skill-building. Retrieved
March 02, 2016, from http://www.basic-life-skills-made-easy.com/self-esteem.html