Parent Letter on Philosophy
Samantha Graff
Rasmussen College
Author Note
This paper is being submitted on January 22, 2015 for Rhonda Crabbs EC100/EEC1700 Section
02 Foundations of Child Development Course
Dear Parents, My name is Samantha Graff and I am the assistant teacher of the twoyear old Discovery
Preschool classroom. It is a pleasure to me to be your child’s teacher. I am here to support their developmental needs and help them gain knowledge in learning development. I am very excited to get to know each child and the families as well. When I am the acting teacher in the afternoon
I make sure I teach the children the way I know they learn best. With that being said, the first and foremost I believe in when teaching children who are new to me or school in general is trust.
There is a theorist and theory I would like for you to be informed about, because I think the theory I am going to talk about plays an important role in early childhood ages 01 years old. The name of the theorist whose theory I really connect well with is Erik Erikson (19021994) He really explains the importance of the theory trust vs. mistrust. He has right stages but the main one I connect with and can relate to the most is Trust vs. Mistrust. Erikson believed that in the earliest years of life, mainly during infancy, patterns of trust vs. mistrust are formed that control or at least influence a person’s actions or interactions for the rest of their life. (Erikson 1950)
I really connect with Erik Erikson’s stage one theory trust vs. mistrust. In this stage of development it occurs between birth and one year of age and is the most fundamental stage of life. The development of trust is based on the dependability and quality of the child’s caregivers.
If a child successfully develops trust, he or she will feel safe and secure in the world. Caregivers who are inconsistent, emotionally unavailable, or rejecting contribute to feelings of mistrust in the children they care for. Failure to develop trust will result in fear and a belief that the world is inconsistent and unpredictable. If a caregiver fails to provide adequate care and love, the child
will come to feel that he or she can not trust or depend upon the adults in his or her life. No child is going to develop a sense of 100 percent trust or 100 percent doubt it is all according to how they grow upon it. Erikson believed that successful development was all about striking a balance between the two opposing sides. When this happens children acquire hope.
Applying this theory in my classroom was day one when I was hired at Kindercare. I started as the assistant teacher in the toddler room where I started to gain levels of trust from each and every child. Gaining their trust did not happen overnight it took about a week or so. At first I could tell there were a select few of them that were not sure about showing me they trusted me but each day got better as they got the knowledge of who I was. Recently, I was moved to the
Discovery Preschool room where the trust vs mistrust started all over again due to those children not really knowing me. I wanted them to feel safe and secure and within two weeks I knew the trust was there from each and every child not 100 percent but to where I could be around them and help them with their needs. I would also like to discuss and explain to you what PILES is and how it applies to my classroom and working with your children. PILES stands for Physical, Intellectual, Language,
Emotional, and Social Development. I would like to talk about each part of PILES to give you a better understanding of how it is applied in your child's everyday life. PILES are the domains that each child needs to learn in their development.
Physical development includes mastering movement, balance and fine and gross motor
skills.
