My Philosophy

I was drawn to Education in 2009, when I ventured over to India, and volunteered my time to
teach English in an Orphanage in Nagaland. Here I saw much poverty, however I also saw
hope. I saw hope in Education, and developed an understanding of how Education in India
aids in; breaking the cycle of poverty, helps to provide equal rights for women and provides
the opportunity to live a comfortable life. Fast forward to 9 years later, I am still inspired by
my experience in India and my passion for education has only developed more. I believe
Education can also provide opportunities for all people, and my hope for all children is that
they believe they can become anything if they put their minds to it. Education brings hope
and Empowerment.

Montessori:
I am a Montessori, Reggio Emileah and Nature- Based Inspired Teacher. I am currently
studying a Diploma in 3-6 of Montessori Education. My Montessori journey has helped me to;
value the child as an individual, encourage independence, self-care, grace and courtesy
through the use of the Montessori materials, the prepared environment and the teachings of
Maria Montessori. I value the Montessori ‘Prepared’ Environment and the Environment as
the ‘third teacher’. The Montessori environment values; play, individuality, beauty, nature
and the intellectual ability of the child (Montessori Australia Foundation, 2011). These all align
to my beliefs. All areas of the Montessori curriculum help build a child to become the best
version of themselves and supports the child to develop independence so that they can
develop skills in the classroom that they will use for life.

Reggio Emilia:

The Environment as the third teacher is a Reggio Emilia inspired concept which is extremely
similar to the ‘Prepared’ Environment. It means that the environment should promote
independence, being similar to having a third teacher. I am also inspired by The hundred
language of children. This is the belief that a child can express their ideas through a range of
symbolic and graphic modes emphasising the creativity of children. The environment is
created to aid in the expressive arts as it is believed that this is how a child shows there
learning. The hundred languages mean that a child can express through a range of modes
which includes; speech, writing, playing, different media, collage, music and anything they
use to create (St Cuthberts NZ, 2018) (Gandini, 2003). Ultimately, this values the child as a
whole.

Nature Based Learning:

I am also extremely inspired by Nature Based Education as I believe learning about nature is
ultimately learning about us as humans and our existence on the Earth. Nature brings in
excitement and wonder and provides a natural experience in which plastic materials could
not. Nature explores, language, mathematics, science and Humanities and Social sciences
without changing the materials. Playing in the natural world, and being outside is a right for
all children and through exploring the natural environment ultimately it can aid in developing
the whole child (Being, Belonging, Becoming, 2018).
All in all, my philosophy values the child first and learning to develop the child’s abilities
through beginning where that child is at, and developing their skills to where they individually
require. I believe Formative observations and learning stories and much more impactful than
summative checklists because they provide a view on the whole child, and their learning. I
believe Education through the Montessori, Reggio Emileah and Nature based approach can
empower people. Overall Education can break the cycle of poverty and also provides
independence and the ability to excel in intrinsic achievements.