GUIDANCE PHILOSOPHY PAPER

Guidance is advice or information aimed at resolving a problem or difficulty. When

we teach children through positive guidance, we are supporting a childs healthy
development. From the first journal article; Planning for positive guidance: powerful
interactions make a difference I learned powerful interactions are ones when you
are present, connected and extend learning. Powerful interactions are when a
teacher intentionally connects with a child to extend his or her learning. This
describes positive guidance. Positive guidance is an effective tool when we teach
children. Positive reinforcements or guidance enhances childrens social and
emotional development. From the article 21 strategies I learned when children are
given positive discipline, we set clear, consistent limits. When we are consistent
with our limits and guidance, it diminishes power struggles. When teaching children
we learn what they need through observations and assessments. Adults need to
make clear statements and know the children we work with. For guidance to be
successful, we must first understand a childs behavior. From the article in chapter 7
of Beginnings and Beyond I learned the core value NAEYC is; We have committed
to ourselves to helping children and adults achieve their full potential in the context
of relationships that are based on trust, respect, and positive regard. When we
guide children in a positive way, they learn and prosper. I learned from Beginnings
and beyond the first step in establishing guidelines is it needs to include the child,
the adult, and the situation. Five factors for effective guidance are the environment,
the individual, emotional and social, development and cultural. When discipline is
used as a guidance strategy, children become more responsible for their actions,
learn self-control and behave appropriately. Guidance helps children manage
impulses, express feelings, channel frustrations, solve problems, and learn the
differences between acceptable and unacceptable behaviors. I learned from Chapter
1 of the book; The power of guidance when a teacher understands a childs
developmental level, they will accept their behavior as appropriate. When we see a
childs behavior as a learning experience, we will help a child in a positive nurturing
way. We need to take the time and listen to what children are unable to say or
explain on their own. I learned from Chapter 2 of the book The power of guidance,
guidance supports and nurtures a child. We need to provide leadership in guidance
so children can interact successfully. Mistaken behavior is a term used to help us
understand a childs behavior. Mistaken behavior teaches a child conflict resolution.
When dealing with mistaken behavior, we must remember a child is at the
beginning of their lifelong learning process and we all make mistakes. Children need
us to support them and give the positive interactions so they grow. Guidance
teaches positive alternatives and gives a child a chance to solve their own
problems. I learned from Chapter 3 of the book The power of guidance guidance
empowers children to solve their own problems and accept the consequences.
Children learn through constructive knowledge by interacting with their
environment. Success through guidance is measured by positive attitudes toward
living and learning. In discussion board #1, Dan Hodgin teaches us to use

encouragement in our guidance practices. I learned from discussion board #1

encouragement motivates, renews energy, gives children the courage to continue
difficult tasks and develops independence. The child is not wrong, our perception of
the situations is wrong. We need to support the child. I learned how positive
guidance is when I made a chart on punishment and guidance strategies.
Punishment lowers self-esteem while guidance builds self-esteem. Punishment
humiliates while guidance strengthens. I learned the importance of home and
school working together from Chapter 4 of The power of guidance. When children
feel their thoughts and family are natural and completely acceptable in the
classroom, children will extend their sense of community to include both home and
school. I learned through observations, we learn about a child and their families.
When we communicate with families, we are building partnerships to help a child
learn and succeed. Mistaken behavior must have healthy corrections. I learned from
the article; How to understand your childs temperament from healthychildren.org
that children are born with their own temperaments. Temperaments can be modified
by experiences and interactions with others, with the environment, or healthy
issues. Children are loosely categorized as easy, slow to warm up or shy, or difficult
or challenging in temperaments. The eight main characteristics of temperament
are; activity level, approach, adaptability, intensity, mood, attention span,
distractibility, and sensory threshold. When dealing with difficult temperament, we
need to adjust the guidance to a childs developmental level. My 2 nd article
summary; Offering guidance to parents: Childs temperament, managing colic, and
youth sports participation I learned temperament is a social information processing
system through which children view and interact with the world. Temperament does
not easily change. When we recognize a childs temperament, we can reform their
perceptions. When dealing with temperament, teachers need a good strategy plan
that is supportive and a positive influence on a child. I learned three things from the
article: Coping with disaster. The three things I learned are provide ways for a
child to express their feeling safely. The second is the symptoms of a child
overstressed by a crisis. The third is remain as calm as possible, children will be
sensitive to an adults actions and words. I learned from Chapter 4 of the book: Get
over it when we create our curriculum for children adults are just the visitors,
children own the curriculum. I learned children must be interested in the activity
and if they are not mistaken behavior will be displayed. Curriculum need to be
based on observations of the children. When children direct the curriculum, they
become empowered and enjoy it. From Chapter 5 of the book; Get over it I learned
a stimulating environment should be filled with objects that produce thoughts and
curiosity. To decrease challenging behavior, children need to feel in control of the
environment they are in. Children cannot practice self-control until they are in an
environment that provide opportunities for control. I learned the type of
environment children live in effects their behavior from Chapter 6 of the book Get
over it. Children need environments that establish trust and sincerity. When
children experience tension it is stored in their bodies and they may exhibit
mistaken behavior. Children need methods to deal with stress and their
environments play a major factor in releasing stress. I learned from Chapter 7 of
Get over it children need guidance that focuses on self-respect, healthy,
interpersonal relationships and problem-solving skills. Children need help

developing the skills to make wise decisions for themselves. I learned from Chapter
8 of Get over it anger in children may be a second emotion. Children need
opportunities to express all the feeling they have. Children need help recognizing
and expressing feelings. Toddlers have a lot of energy and dont know how to calm
down. I learned from Chapter 9 of Get over it a toddlers environment needs to
reflect their needs and interests. I learned from discussion board #2 that children
cannot practice self-control until they are in an environments that provides the
opportunities for control. A clear organized environment produces an energy that is
orderly. An environment that invites self-control will produce an energy that helps
children learn self-control. When a childs basic needs are met, they can then learn
self-control. I learned Maslows Theory which creates a hierarchy of needs. The
lower levels must be met first before a child can go onto self-actualizations. The
levels are from the bottom, deficit needs, physiological, safety, belonging, esteem
and finally self-actualizations. When needs are not met, children will have mistaken
behaviors. Teachers are positive leaders in guidance. I learned from Chapter 5 of
The power of guidance teachers need to work continuously to make a program
responsive to each child. Guidance should be used instead of time-outs. All
discipline should be supportive and teach a child how to gain control and express
their feelings appropriately. Time-outs impose external control and inhibit a childs
ability to build internal controls. Guidelines teach a child to understand. If a child
shows mistaken behavior, the first thing we need to look at and change is the
environment. From Chapter 6 of The power of guidance I learned four intervention
strategies that should replace time-outs. These strategies are; conflict
management, guidance talks, class meetings and comprehensive guidance.
Children respond positively when teachers build relationships with the child and
family. There is no such thing as a bad child. Mistaken behavior can be the result of
strong unmet emotional and/or physical needs that a child cannot cope with or
understand. I learned from Chapter7 of The power of guidance the importance of
class meetings. A class meeting is guidances approach to group punishment. Class
meetings encourage children to learn multiple realities, discover they have choices
and realize they are responsible for their own decisions. With consistent class
meetings over time children begin to care for one another, solve their own problems
feel more empowered, feel more in control of their learning and view all community
as their teachers. The third article summary I picked was Children with challenging
behaviors. This article teaches the importance of teamwork in changing
challenging behaviors. Challenging behavior can be controlled and change with
positive reinforcements. Changing the environment may be all you need to change
challenging behavior. One of the most important things with challenging behavior is
be consistent. The best way to prevent challenging behavior is to foster social and
emotional needs and skills. When children start to gain a better understanding of
emotions, they become more capable of emotion regulation. I learned from handout
2.7 Social emotional teachers strategies controlling anger and frustrations is one
of the most difficult tasks in emotional literacy. When children learn to cope with
their emotions constructively, they will have an easier time with disappointments,
aggravation, and hurt feelings. Teachers are the role models children look at for
remaining calm. Challenging behavior develops over a period of time in the context
of relationships and environments. I learned from handout 1.4 Addressing

challenging behavior in infants and toddlers challenging behavior is the number

one training need for teachers of young children. I learned the pyramid model that
helps support early care and educations. The pyramid model helps teachers
promote, prevent and intervene in challenging behaviors. The levels of the pyramid
starts with a solid base of effective workers. The levels from top to bottom are
nurturing and responsive relationships, a high quality supportive environment,
targeted emotional and social supports and intense intervention. Its very important
when dealing with challenging behavior, caregivers and teachers receive training
and support. Relationships with caregivers is crucial for the development of a childs
positive self-image and the beliefs about the world around them. Communicating
with children at their developmental levels is needed for children to overcome
challenging behaviors. I learned from handout 1.4 positive behavioral support (PBS).
PBS is a strategy for dealing with challenging behaviors that starts with; observe
and document, respond immediately to unsafe behavior, have meeting with the
families to collect information, meet with the caregivers, provide support, and have
a timeframe and method for evaluations of the challenging behavior. If challenging
behaviors persist, revise the plan and try again. I learned the pause state for boys
from discussion board #3. Boys need time to come out of a pause state before
reinforcing positive behaviors. Boys need physical activities or a few moments
before we find solutions to mistaken behaviors. I learned from chapter 10 of Get
over it the importance of teaching children sharing. Sharing is developed as
children recognize the needs of others. I learned children who are forced to share
before they are developmentally ready may become more possessive later in life.
We need to allow children to decide when they are ready to give up an object, not
when we think they should. I learned from Chapter 11 of Get over it how people
mislabel highly active and highly bored children as attention deficit hyperactive
disorder (ADHD). I learned instead of medication, change the environment and your
attitude of the situations. Children sometimes become bored with school, either
because what is being taught is irrelevant or it is too easy. I learned from chapter 12
of Get over it you do not teach young children respect, you model it. I learned
getting respectable behavior from children requires adults around them to create a
climate that is respectful. Children have a difficult time with constant change. I
learned from chapter 13 of Get over it we need to keep transitions simple,
organized and as few as possible in the classrooms. The more children move in
groups, the more likely challenging behaviors will occur. When children are
constantly praised, they often lose the skill of self-evaluation. I learned from chapter
14 of Get over it the results of giving children praise is a child who grows needing
praise or even craving it. Children need encouragement. Encouragement focuses on
the process and helps children reflect on their own work. Children need to learn the
process of making their own decisions. I learned from the article 5 Reasons five
reasons why we should not always praise a child. Instead of praise, engage in
conversations with the child about how other people are affected by what they are
doing. The more we engage children on conversations, the more they will see their
own accomplishments. Let the child create their own sense of accomplishment and
be there to support them. Effective guidance requires three elements; parenting
capacity, family and environmental factors and childs developmental needs. I
learned from chapter 7 of Guiding childrens behavior these elements are called a

guidance lens. I learned 10 effective guidance strategies which make up the

guidance ladder and will help you with mistaken behaviors. From the bottom to top
of the ladder they are;
1) Ignore the behavior
2) Active listening
3) Reinforcements
4) Redirection/distraction
5) Give choices
6) Set limits
7) Active problem solving
8) Natural/logical consequences
9) Time-out
10)
Physical interventions
Behavior is learned through experience and can be changed through
reinforcements. When we teach children, our main goal is to move children to a skill
level where they can negotiate a solutions to the conflicts themselves. Chapter 8 of
The power of guidance has taught me that teachers as guidance professionals can
bring leadership to their classrooms. I learned boys will exhibit physical aggression
mistaken behavior more than girls. When children become uninterested in activities,
they become bored. When children are helps to resolve their disputes themselves,
they feel fully accepted as members of the group. Building a healthy attachment
with a child is necessary to help children learn socially responsive behavior. I
learned from chapter 9 of The power of guidance that coaching a child towards
resiliency can turn a childs life around. Children are exposed to three levels of
violence indirectly or directly. When children show mistaken behavior, we can
observe and document what we see to find the patterns and know exactly what a
child needs help with. Children sometimes have problems that are too big for them
to handle themselves. When this happens children need positive attachments and
guidance to help them overcome mistaken behavior. There is no such thing as a bad
child, only bad problems. Sometimes children get into conflicts and cannot easily
resolve it. I learned from chapter 10 of The power of guidance teachers must
intervene in conflict when the situation is detrimental, seriously disruptive and/or
damaging to others. When this happens guidance talks, mediations, or class
meetings will help resolve the problems. Young children are just starting to learn the
lifelong process of knowing right from wrong. When children have emotional
outbursts, we must intervene with guidance talks. We need to be direct, command a
choice, calm everyone down and when needed you may have to use physical
restraint. Guidance is taught throughout the day as curriculum and not just when
conflict happens. When observations of what happens in a particular environment
are combined with knowledge of educational philosophy, the physical environment
takes its place with other program elements as a full participant in early childhood
curriculum. I learned from reading my fourth article summary; Classroom design
and how it influences behaviors when space is well organized, with open pathways
that clearly lead to activities that offer enough to do, children manage on their own.
I learned space and the arraignment have a far reaching influence on a childs
development. In the article Behavior management: not systems but relationships

it supports my views that children who are given the right support and environment
will learn to manage themselves. Children who have the freedom of choice with the
right environment and tools will learn self-reliance. Our job is to give them what
they need. I learned from chapter 15 of Get over it that when we give children the
opportunities to make decisions, the greater they will feel in control of their lives.
Listening to a child and giving them choices helps them build self-worth. I learned
from chapter 16 of Get over it risk taking helps children increase resilience,
develop problem solving skills, create safer play and better judgements. Children
need opportunities for physical, social and intellectual risks. This includes physical
forms of fighting. I learned from chapter 17 of Get over it children fight over
issues, possessions or for attention. First thing we need to distinguish is if the
physical fighting is aggressive or assertive. When we observe we will see if
intervention is required. Children need opportunities to work problems out
themselves. From chapter 18 of Get over it I learned children cannot be successful
at losing until they have lots of opportunities to win. Children need opportunities to
gain power so they can learn self-control. With power struggles they may in forms of
roughhousing. I learned from chapter 19 of Get over it physical intervention that
takes place during roughhousing gives children give-and-take social interactions. We
need to support roughhousing with enough space and know they can tell the other
child to stop when they are finished with this type of play. Another form of play is
superhero play. I learned in chapter 20 of Get over it superhero play gives children
opportunities to gain power, so they will create less negative behaviors. When we
create our space for children they need to feel safe and have a sense of belonging. I
learned from chapter 21 of Get over it the importance of children having a sense
of belonging. Children need playful experiences so they can attain power, support
dramatic play and lots of opportunities for active play. I learned challenging
behavior is due to environments, the curriculum or adult practices. From the book
Get over it I learned through observations we see what we need to change to help
children. We need to offer encouragement and clear messages. Children become
empowered when we give them daily opportunities to demonstrate who they
become, what they have created and what they want. Through this class the most
important thing I learned was there is no such thing as a bad child, only mistaken
behaviors. If a child has mistaken behavior, look at the environment. Everything we
learn about a child is a direct result of our objective observations.