“When I Think of Child Development”

Every child is an artist. The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.

                                                                                      ~Pablo Picasso
          We have an awesome responsibility as educators to provide all children the tools to be able to explore.  Gopnik, (n.d.), said it nicely, “we need to cultivate the child’s development by opening a wide range of opportunities of how to think and explore”.   Playing allows children to experience and paint pictures of their surroundings with flexibility that makes them observe as they look, listen and feel.

I thank each one of you, for your words of wisdom, your collection of resources for my utilization to support families and children, and letting me be among others who have a vested interest in providing a nurturing, safe and healthy environment for children of all ages.
Heather, continue to instill in the children the purpose of play and provide the parents the resources that will help them to realize the importance of play.   Yolanda, thank you for the support by stimulating me to think out of the box when for the betterment of children. 
 And I cannot forget Dr. Ferrari, you have provided me the feed forward to continue my studies with proficiency. Everyone's  dedication and commitment will leave a lasting impression on the development and growth of children and youth.  I challenge each of us as educators to continue to provide support to all children, so that as they become adults they will be less focused on the outcome and enjoy the processes of their accomplishments.

                                                             REFERENCE
Laureate, (n.d.).  Media segment, Dr. Alison Gopnik discusses, "Studying development: Lessons learned".

Testing Intelligence ?

No child left behind.   In today’s society children begin testing at birth.  They are assessed in the area of physical development and their sensitivity which encompasses their cognitive abilities to respond.  By the time a child enters school, they are required to write their name, count to 100, read sentences that are more than three to five words each and be socially ready to interact with others.  Eventually, children go from being participants to a child that is competitive in a learning environment, which is based on the fact that children are expected to meet the standards set before them.  I have found that most teachers do not focus on the individual needs of the children but on the final results that havbeen established.

          When educators look at the whole child, they will see how the child processes information, the child’s cultural and family being, the child’s social interactions, and how the child is active physically.  Research inspired by Vygotsky and the sociocultural perspective reveals that cultural differences can be powerful and that specific instruction and practical experience vary from one context to another, (Berger, 2010). Every child thinks and reacts based on their individuality.  Interests come from how they learn and children will demonstrate their desires through their strengths, weaknesses, likes, and dislikes.  Some children may learn by listening, others by looking, others, by doing, (Berger, 2010). 

            Standardized testing is what teachers and students have become accustom to in the United States.  Common Core Principles have been developed to ensure that teachers provide the right curriculum so that students will meet the desired accomplishments to reach the highly preferred level of the standardized test results.  There are positive and negative effects on children who have participated in standardized tests.  Positively, tests provide children the opportunity to be prepared in advance in the classroom.  Negatively, not all children are successful and feel that they are failures.  Overall, these tests do not measure some of the traits, (innovation, creativity, and love of learning), that are most important in education (Anthony & Media, 2014).

            In the Republic of Ireland, standardized tests are used to report to the parents on their child’s achievements in the area of English, math, and reading.  Most students attend and complete secondary education, with approximately 90% of school-leavers taking the terminal examination, the Leaving Certificate, at age 16-19.  There are four types of schools that the students can attend:  Vocational, Voluntary Secondary Schools, Comprehensive and Community Schools, and Grind Schools.  The exit exam is similar to the United States (US) process of accessing students.  During the middle school and high school years, US students are assessed through standardized tests,  requiring that each student to pass before graduating for the School District.
            All children should be provided the opportunity to learn in the style that best fits them and their desired interests.   Those who have an interest in the creative thinking should be able to focus on the curriculum that provides them the knowledge to enhance their skills and become efficient in what they want to do in their adulthood.  Children should not be held hostage but given the chance to be successful and feel good about what they are doing.

 REFERENCES

Anthony, A. & Media, D., (2014).  The effects of standardized tests on teachers and students.   
Retrieved from, http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/effects-standardized-tests-teachers-students-10379.html
Berger, K. S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (6th ed.). New York, NY: Worth Publishers.