Analyzing The Work Of Kayson Maciel Andrews

The lives of children are greatly influenced by the environment they grow up in, and the people they come in contact with. For years, psychologists, researchers, and social workers have studied children, and why they do what they do. All have developed many different perspectives on how to view social problems and the development of individuals.

In the “Study of the Child: Theories of Development I” (Learning Seed, 1997), according to Vygotsky, the cognitive development in children is in direct relationship, and dependent on interaction with others. (Feldman 2010, pg. 20). Vygotsky believed to truly understand cognitive development; a child’s social and cultural experiences must be considered.

The purpose of this assignment is to closely observe the development of a child through an interview and apply the theories and concept of child development in his particular cultural and educational context. I selected the child who lives in my neighborhood for the interview and began with seeking the permission from his parents. The child’s name is ‘Abdullah’ and he is seven years old. He lives with his family in Terre Haute and his family consists of parents and two sisters. Abdullah goes to Sugar Grove Elementary School in the Terre Haute city along with his two sisters and he is in grade 2. The interview was conducted at his home and I ensured his convenience. He was cooperative and provided insightful responses to the questions and he provided significant detail in the interview. I was able to track his development stages and connect it to different theories of Developmental Psychology including psychoanalytical perspectives and Piaget’s stages of development. In the following paragraphs, I will explain my observations about Abdullah’s development in the light of developmental theories with special focus on cognitive, social, linguistic, and emotional development followed by making connections between his socioeconomic and cultural background and development. Lastly, I will conclude paper by highlighting that the observations during the interview can facilitate my future practice as a teacher.

Firstly, children were encouraged from young to enrichment classes, such as learning the piano or ballet, to increase their exposure to things such as music and art. For some of these children, they may have continued attending these lessons up to their teens. As such, some of these teenagers have to spend extra time attending or practicing for these lessons. This would drastically reduce the free time a teenager would have in a single day. For example, I have been taking piano lessons since the age of 10 and it was a struggle balancing the time used for practicing and the time used for studying. As a result, I was extremely busy doing so many things that I did not felt bored, rather I felt very stressed out. Hence teenagers taking enrichment

What is actually being valued to our students’? Dweck points out, “In our society, we seem to worship talent- and we often portray it as a gift”. (Pg.15) This is an absolute prime example why students’ tend to get defensive of each other's intelligence. For instance, students’ presume that the gifted get to attend class, sit there and become successful. In this case, that statement is incorrect, you have to work for the success you crave, creates problems within the students’. Not only teachers, but parents need to realize that praising children is the inaccurate approach to do, and it will later benefit them in doing

In “Against School”, Gatto told the readers about the boredom in the schools through the teachers because the students were as bored as they, the teacher, were. In school, boredom strikes amongst both teachers and students. Gatto said it best when he stated, “Boredom was everywhere in my world, and if you asked the kids, as often as I did, why they felt so bored, they always gave the same answers: They said the work was stupid, that it made no sense, that they already knew it. They said they wanted to be doing something real, not just sitting around. They said teachers didn’t seem to know much about their subjects and clearly weren’t interested in learning more. And the kids were right: their teachers were as every bit of bored as they were.” (Gatto, page 608). Most students do not want to be at school anyways so therefore, boring school work, unprepared teachers, and pure lecture class time would not help the matter. This next quote can still relate to today’s society, “Boredom is the common condition of schoolteacher, and anyone who has spent time in a teachers’ lounge can vouch for the low energy, the whining, the dispirited attitudes, to be found there.” (Gatto, page 608). When the teacher comes unprepared with a mindset of boredom then nothing will ever change. Although a teacher may have a routine for teaching , because they have taught the same material for years, they should never just recite it. The students have not heard this, because it is new information for

John Taylor Gatto wrote about the topic of boredom in his story “Against School.” He was an award-winning educator, so most believed his statements about education to be true because he was such a credible source. Gatto discusses his belief of having children learn more of what they will need to live on their own in the real world. He wants students to take their education with them out into the world instead of learning pointless material in public school that will never be applied to the real world. Gatto references this to boredom and uses it as an example of why some children do not enjoy school. Material that is required to be taught bores students easily, and does not expand their minds to subjects they are interested in. He asks, “Do we really need school? I don’t mean education, just forced schooling: six classes a day, five days a week, nine months a year, for twelve years” (Gatto, page 148-149). Students are trained to become addicts of everyday school and it strips them of responsibility and independence. Eventually, once we can understand the tricks and traps of public schooling, we can avoid them.

No chapter better exemplifies the significance of relationships than The Kindness of Children. In this case study Perry illustrates how negative or lack of relationships can cause developmental delays, and why

There were twelve children in each pre-school class, and there were two classes in the room I was assigned to. The children I interacted with ranges from four to five years old and came from socially diverse backgrounds. Hence, the observation and interaction I had with each child is different but did not entirely deviated from the expected level of maturity based on the various developmental theories. During this assignment, I observed the children regularly interacting with each other, honing their interpersonal skills through various activities. Although, the children tend to be egocentric at times, fighting over every pieces of Lego, as they struggle to see things from the perspective of other children. In particular, the children often bickers in vying for play time with me and the other teachers. However, in most cases, the children themselves resolved their squabble; a testament to Erikson’s theory, as they develop a sense of initiative and security in their ability to lead and make decisions. A true sign of the children’s developmental maturity.

Many children have attended a preschool or nursery before starting school, they are now entering a new setting and as part of a much larger group they will need to adapt to much more complex social situations (Yael Schmueli-Goetz). Yvonne Skipper said that 10%have trouble socially, without the friendships they do not have the opportunities to practice skills like ‘listening, responding, it may effect cognitive development because they may struggle more with listening instructions, and responding to teachers. (Yvonne Skipper o.u. video 2015 in Yael schmueli-Goetz.) By having friends children campractice the listening, responding and turn taking which will help them with the school routine once they begin their formal

For twelve years’ students do the same thing over and over again Monday through Friday for nine months out of the year, which is wake up early to go to school, take five to six classes a day, do homework, and take tests. John Gatto has taught for thirty years in many school some good and some bad, and with so many years of experience he’s learned that boredom is everywhere. Many kids where asked why they felt bored and they all pretty much answered the same way saying that the work was dumb and it made no sense or that they already knew about it. According to Gatto,” They said they wanted to be doing something real, not just sitting around. They said teachers didn’t seem to know much about their subject, and clearly weren’t interested in learning

At the age of 6 years old, a child would most likely experienced the school system which would include pre-school and kindergarten. There are many physical, cognitive and social changes that are happening in middle childhood development. This paper will examine what these changes affect the child’s ability to function in society. This analysis will focus on the normal course of development in middle childhood as it applies to the theorist Erik Erikson’s Psychosocial Stages and then give examples of what may happen if the developments are not carried out.

I again observed children in the special services department at the Coulter Grove Intermediate School building in Maryville, Tennessee. Though this department covers a wide variety of grades, I concentrated my attention on the second to fifth graders. These children were in the same room, with another special services classroom across the hall. My observation hours occurred between the hours of 12:00 PM and 2 PM. I focused a session and a half (or three hours) on observation of the social and emotional domain in child development. While the special services department does contain children with special needs (therefore, those who have not developed to their fullest capacity), it also features neurotypical children who work as “peer buddies” and are developing normally. The gender divide among the children was around even, although there was a definite race divide, with most children being white. One child out of all the children was black. As a result of the department being focused on special needs children, there were many more teachers than there is in a typical classroom, with the majority of these teachers having a calm approach to leading the children, although making sure to be very firm in their directions. The classroom differed from a “typical” classroom, with a couch on one side of the room and space to sit down on the floor and work. There was also a special area dedicated to children to have time to “cool down” and a bathroom attached to the classroom. While I

Adams County public school system’s current program doesn’t seem to recognize any minority or poor students who could be considered gifted. Educators in this district and committee members seem to lack any motivation to include diverse learners in their program. The fact that Adams County only recognized three out of four hundred thirty-eight over a five-year span is appalling. I feel Adams County need some major changes to extend their idea of giftedness. It needs to start with intensive and in-depth teacher training along with community outreach and awareness programs to help educate parents about giftedness. For instance, parent could learn ways to better support their children and help identify their child’s areas of giftedness.

The child I observed was a seven-year-old girl in Year 2 who sat on the second highest ability table in a mixed class. While not in school, she lived a substantial distance away meaning she travelled to and from school by car and was often the first child to arrive in the morning and the last to leave in the afternoon. I will focus on the social and emotional development of this child who, from now onwards, will be referred to as C.