Sarah Hartuniewicz

1342 Worcester Dr NE
Grand Rapids, MI 49505
To Whom It May Concern,
My life-long passion of working with children has led me to have an
interest in pursuing a career with organizations such as yours. The fulfillment
and joy that I receive from teaching children is one of the many reasons why
I chose to study Early Childhood Education.
During my undergraduate years at Aquinas College, I studied
Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education. When I first started
college, I was set on studying Biology. I was confident that Biology was the
field that I wanted to go into. However, not long after I declared my major, I
was not content with the choice that I had made. I continued to ask myself,
Would being a biologist bring me happiness and joy for the rest of my life?
The answer was no. It didnt take me long to figure out what would bring me
this happiness: working with children. This is when I decided that I wanted to
enroll in the Education Program and devote my life to working with children.
Aside from attending Aquinas College, this was one of the best decisions that
I have ever made. Soon after enrolling in the Education Program, I was
fortunate enough to have the opportunity to shadow a reading
interventionist for a semester. Having this opportunity confirmed my belief of
how important literacy is for young children. I also completed a rigorous
literacy program which included three semesters of traditional literacy, as
well as one semester of emergent literacy. My interest and love for education

has led me to continue my studies at Aquinas College in their Graduate

Program.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing
from you and learning more about your organization. Please do not hesitate
to contact me at sbh001@aquinas.edu or 616-337-1348.

Sincerely,
Sarah Hartuniewicz

My respect and admiration for Early Childhood Education began when I

was in elementary school. Although I was too young to realize that I wanted
to be an educator, I realized how much of an impact teachers can have on
their students lives. In second grade, my parents divorced, my mother
moved out-of-state, and I stayed with my father. Since I rarely saw my
mother, and my father was typically working and not around, I often looked
up to and grew close to my teachers. School became a place for me to
escape home and be around people that actually cared about my well-being.
I am forever grateful for these few teachers who took the time, effort, love,
and care to help me through these difficult times. I hope to provide the same
care and comfort to all of my students. This is one of the many reasons I
chose a career in Early Childhood Education.
Another life event that influenced me to choose a career in Early
Childhood Education was the birth of my younger brother, Christopher. I was
eleven years old at the time, and I immediately felt a sense of responsibility. I
found joy in watching him grow as an individual. Reading to him, teaching
him life-long skills, and bonding with him were some of the many things that
brought me an unfathomable amount of happiness. My brother is now ten
years old and to this day he is still the most important person in my life. I will
always love helping him to be a better student and inspiring him to be the
best that he can be.

During my undergraduate years at Aquinas College, I studied many

different approaches to Early Childhood Education. Three of these
approaches include the Reggio Emilia Approach, Montessori, and HighScope.
The Reggio Emilia Approach is a philosophical approach to teaching
that was founded in Northern Italy by a man named Loris Malaguzzi. Unlike
some approaches that are named after the person who most influenced it,
The Reggio Emilia Approach is named after the town where it was founded.
Malaguzzi, who was born in 1920, was a teacher and polymath who also
studied psychology. He believed in the importance of the early years in
childrens lives. In the late 1950s, the town of Reggio Emilia began to set up
preschools for children aged 3-6. In 1958, Malaguzzi became the director of
all preschools in Reggio Emilia, where he spent the remainder of his life; and
in 1970, the first infant-toddler center opened for children who ranged from 3
months 3 years of age.
The Reggio Emilia Approach has many features that make it unique
from other Early Childhood Education approaches. One of the many features
that make it unique is the belief that children are curious and intelligent
individuals who have the potential to construct their own learning. It also
believes that the environment plays a huge role on childrens learning, and it
even refers to the environment as being the third teacher. Documentation
is another important aspect of the Reggio Emilia Approach. Transcriptions,
photos, drawings, and other representations of students learning are all

studied and placed into portfolios. Rather than being a specific curriculum or
program, the Reggio Emilia Approach is more of theory or philosophical
approach to teaching.
Montessori, another approach to Early Childhood Education, was
founded by Maria Montessori in Rome, Italy. She believed that all children
had natural intelligence. In 1907, Montessori opened the first Casa dei
Bambini, (Childrens House), in Rome. There she experimented with
materials and methods for teaching children with disabilities. In 1912, her
book The Montessori Method, was published which made her internationally
famous. Montessori saw children as individuals who could take control of
their own learning.
The Montessori approach to Early Childhood Education is now practiced
throughout the world. Essential elements are what make Montessori unique
and unlike other Early Childhood Approaches. Mixed-age classrooms, student
choice of activity, uninterrupted blocks of work time, a constructivist model,
specialized materials, freedom of movement, and a trained Montessori
teacher are all important features to the Montessori Approach.
HighScope is another Early Childhood Approach that was founded in
Ypsilanti, Michigan by David Weikart. This approach is based on child
development and research based on the findings and beliefs of Piaget,
Dewey, and Vygotsky. HighScope believes that children should be given the
opportunity to choose their own materials, ideas, and people to interact with.
Adults are typically viewed as facilitators or partners, rather than teachers.

HighScope emphasizes the importance of active learning, the environment,

daily routines, the plan-do-review sequence, and adult-child interaction.

The approach that influences my beliefs the most is the Reggio Emilia
Approach. There are many things about this approach that I agree with and
support. One of the many things that I love about this approach is their use
of documentation. Many traditional schools only document a childs learning
through the use of standardized testing. This rarely allows teachers to see
the process the child went through, but only the product. The Reggio Emilia
Approach believes in documenting all of the work that a child does. Whether
it is a paper, drawing, sketch, or project, they are all valued and saved in a
portfolio. Another thing that I agree with about the Reggio Emilia Approach is
the belief that children are curious individuals who are capable of creating
their own learning. Teachers are often so determined to feed students the
information and get through the standards that they often dont provide
enough time for students to come up with their own ideas and conclusions.
We often dont give enough credit to our students when it comes to what
they are able to come up with on their own. This is why I believe in allowing
time for students to explore and process their information on their own.

Along with the Reggio Emilia Approach, I also support and agree with
the findings and beliefs of Vygotsky and Piaget. Vyogotsky, a Soviet
psychologist, has become the foundation of research in cognitive
development, specifically the Social Development Theory. Vygotsky stresses
the importance of social interaction in the cognitive development of children.
Vygotsky also believed that social learning traditionally comes before
development. The Zone of Proximal Development, which focuses on the idea
that new knowledge is dependent on previous learning, is another key idea
of Vygotskys.

Piaget, a Swiss psychologist, was best known for his theory of cognitive
development. Unlike Vygotsky who believed that social factors influence
cognitive development more than anything, Piaget believed that
development in children occurred in four separate stages. The first stage, the
sensorimotor stage, is when children experience the world through
movement and their five senses. Piaget also believes that during the
sensorimotor stage, children are very egocentric. The second stage, the
preoperational stage, is when the child learns to speak. This stage lasts from
age 2-7, and Piaget believed that children cannot mentally manipulate
information. The third stage, the concrete operational stage, believes that
children can now think logically and are no longer egocentric. This stage
occurs from ages 7-11. The fourth and final stage is the formal operational
stage which lasts from age 11 to 16 and onwards. In this stage, children are

able to develop abstract thoughts and think logically. They are also better at
problem-solving and can now utilize metacognition.

Besides the Reggio Emilia Approach and the beliefs and ideas of
Vygotsky and Piaget, there are two strategies that I believe in and often use
while teaching. The workshop model, popularized by Lucy Calkins, believes in
the use of a 5-10 minute mini-lesson before a 35-45 minute block of
independent work. The mini-lesson is typically composed of a short teaching
of a strategy or skill, as well as time for students to practice the skill, talk
about it, or even write about it. Once the mini-lesson is over, students are
then released to work on these strategies on their own, or sometimes in
groups. While students are working independently, the teacher typically
works with groups of students in book clubs. At the end of the reading
block, time is provided that allows students to share and reflect. Lucy Calkins
stresses the fact that students need at least one hour of reading instruction
each day for learning to take place.

The method of gradual release stresses the importance of guiding

children toward being more responsible students who are capable of using
skills and strategies independently. Gradual release commonly uses the I
do, we do, you do sequence. In other words, the teacher firsts demonstrates
or shows a strategy or procedure to the students. After the teacher has
successfully demonstrated the strategy or procedure, she then invites the
students to practice this strategy with her. After the teacher and students
work together, the teacher then supports and guides the students as they try
the strategy on their own. This sequence or process provides the time and
opportunity for children to understand the skill and strategy while becoming
more responsible and independent students.