Journal Entry #2

What aspects of the philosophy statement resonates with you?  Which aspects align with your own philosophy and teaching in early childhood education? 

Does the philosophy of the school align with Developmentally Appropriate Practice (DAP)?  Is there a mention, or are there references to DAP in the philosophy statement?

Does the philosophy of the school address diversity?  Is there a mention, or are there references to Anti-Bias Education in the philosophy statement?

If you could revise or rewrite the philosophy statement, what would you change?

Fort Lee School #2's philosophy statement starts with their commit to a "'children first' student-centered approach".  This is something that I believe in and am commited to in my future classroom.  I am also inspired by john Dewey and Vygotsky and they reference, in their math and science programs, a program that "includes an exploration for knowledge...and utiliz[ing] a constructivist approach to learning that enables students to experience concepts through a hands-on approach to learning."

Unfortunately, there is no reference to DAP or Anti-Bias education, but they do express the value of "cross-curricular learning opportunities [to] enhance daily practice by providing experiences that make connections to real life applications" and their offering of "art, music, physical education and technology [which] enrich and reinforce workplace readiness skills and personal wellness techniques."  Fort Lee is a very diverse community and in School #2's philosophy statement, they do list different ways they celebrate diversity which "enables [them] to cultivate an appreciate for individual differences and develop comfort in [their] commonalities as [they] network in their daily activities."

In my opinion, there could have been a greater emphasis put on social/emotional development.  Also, I didn't like that the first paragraph covered data, statistics and state testing heavily.  As a future parent, for my child's first introduction into education, I would not want such a huge emphasis on numbers.  Perhaps it's because it's a public school and it is necessary to acknowledge it, but I wouldn't open with it.  There was also no mention of play, granted, this is serves PreK-6, but I think they would've benefited from dividing their philosophy by age group rather than content area.  Finally, there were several typos that left me feeling like they perhaps did not put much thought into this philosophy.