What I think About Child Development

This has been such a great journey this semester in Early Childhood Development. I have learned so much this semester about children and how to measure their development at each stage of life from birth through adolescense. It is amazing how we can assume we understand a concept until we actually take the time to research it and look for the data to support these amazing developments in children. There is a quote that is important to me that pertains to the development of children.

“Playing should be fun! In our great eagerness to teach our children we studiously look for ‘educational’ toys, games with built-in lessons, books with a ‘message.’ Often these ‘tools’ are less interesting and stimulating than the child’s natural curiosity and playfulness. Play is by its very nature educational. And it should be pleasurable. When the fun goes out of play, most often so does the learning.”

 ~ Joanne E. Oppenheim. Child development expert and author.~

There is another quote that drew my eye because it discussed observations of children, and we did several observations this semester. I have observed children many times, but only this semester, I learned how to observe children objectively to get the best results of their development.

 “Close observation of children at play suggests that they find out about the world in the same way as scientists find out about new phenonoma and test new ideas…during this exploration, all the senses are used to observe and draw conclusions about objects and events through simple, if crude, scientific investigations.” 

~ Judith Roden. Lecturer, Canterbury Christ Church University College~

I hope to stay objective and to continue to practice all of the techniques learned this semester through this course, and the insight and wisdom from my fellow colleagues.

Testing for Intelligence

When looking at a child’s education holistically, we must consider what that sort of education would entail versus a more traditional approach to learning. While researching holistic education approaches, what seems to be the commonality is that children who learn holistically are learning to see the meaningfulness of what they learn. Holistic learning is also helping children to have flexibility when learning. Standardized testing expects children to learn the same thing and the same pace and to comprehend the material at the same rates. As an educator and someone who has had to take multiple standardized tests in the past, know that children learn at different rates and speeds, and understand things on a different level than their peers. It is easy to label a child who is very capable and smart with this standardized test as a child that is lacking skills and the know all of their age group, but this is a misconception.  What should be measured when a child is assessed to make sure they are maturing and learning at an appropriate rate is of course, the basics of math, science, reading/language arts and social studies/history. With that said, it should be what the children are learning in that particular region and of what they have already learned. Children should not be made to feel inadequate of learners because they are getting tested on material they do not understand and have yet learned. In addition to the basics of testing, children should be assessed in a natural social setting to see how they are coping with being in a social society; emotionally, spiritually, and physically. Asking behavior building and character building questions could help the child with emotional and possibly spiritual growth. Children learn in more ways than the standard subjects in school. To understand the whole child, they child has to learn in an environment that understands they are not standard, but unique and growing at their own pace.

I looked at an article of children being tested and taught in France. The French have a much different approach to teaching and giving standardized tests. Teachers in France are rarely fired or dismissed, and they expect children to dictate and learn in an all-inclusive, teacher directed atmosphere. International schools are great for short-term use of 5 years or less, but private schools and French schools are for children staying in the country who plan on learning French, since that is the primary language. Teachers are not really held to any great standards of teaching, and the children are expected to understand, keep up, and know all educational standards for their grade until about age 14-15 when they take a standardized test. If a child doesn’t pass this test, they are held back with younger children. Before the big standardized test between the ages of 14-15, “At the end of each term there's a conseil de classe - a meeting of teachers and parents' and pupils' representatives - at which each class and each pupil are assessed.” (Laredo, 2013) This is very vague to me, because it is not really explaining what is being tested, but it seems that France really is big on language and math.

References:

Laredo, Jo. 2013.  Education in France. Paris Voice.  Retrieved from: http://www.parisvoice.com/practical-paris/474-education-in-france