Child Psychology Developmental Scientist Paper Ximena Franco

Piaget was the first psychologist to make a systematic study of cognitive development. Piaget’s work includes a detailed observational study of cognition in children. Piaget showed that young children think in different ways to adults. According to Piaget, children are born with a very basic mental structure (genetically inherited and evolved) on which all subsequent knowledge is based.

Jean Piaget is a key figure for development, focusing on cognitive constructivism – that being that we must learn from experience and development, building on knowledge that has already been developed. The strengths and weaknesses of Piaget 's cognitive development theory will be discussed.

Cultural Diversity has lead schools to promote dual language and bilingual programs for ELL students. However, raising bilingual children according to Marsha Rosenberg is not something that simply happens. Parents must carefully consider how they will raise their children in their new culture. Unfortunately, many parents often forget that neglecting their primary language in the process of raising their children will only hurt them in the long run. However, what they fail to understand is that our current society insists on developing diverse learners, who can speak two or more languages and are diverse (Gensee, n.d). Therefore, in order to raise bilingual students they parents must provide the children with rich experiences at home as well as in a variety of settings (Broekhuizen, n.d.). Furthermore, families need to maintain a close family unity and sense of belonging when dealing with the bilingual issue at home.

When an educator walks into her classroom for the first time, she needs to be prepared to encounter students that come from a variety of backgrounds. The children will be in different stages of language development, and the educator must accommodate for each of these students. Magruder, Hayslip, Espinosa, and Matera (2013) state, “The US Census Bureau projects that by the 2030s, children whose home language is other than English will increase from roughly 22 percent to 40 percent of the school-age population” (p. 9). This increase in second language learners will cause the educator to accommodate for those needs. Second language learners “need teachers who welcome them and recognize their unique abilities, what they know, and what they need to learn” (Magruder, Hayslip, Espinosa, and Matera, 2013, p. 10).

The amount of young children who are acquiring English as a second or even third language in the early care and education (ECE) setting as well as K-12 public classrooms have amplified across the United States in recent years (Espinosa, 2015, p. 40). These young children that are acquiring two or more languages concurrently, or learning a second language along with refining their native language are considered dual language learners (DLLs) (Espinosa, 2015, p. 40). The number of DLLs has multiplied tremendously and now accounts for 25% of all children living in the United States (p. 40). The Office of Head Start (2011) state that fifty-nine percent of the children enrolled in the Head Start Programs were from racial or ethnic minority families, 37% were Hispanic/Latino and more than 30% were dual language learners (as cited in Espinosa, 2015, p. 40). Unfortunately, starting from the preschool stage and throughout high school, the educational achievements of DLLs tend to

In his essay "Bilingual education outdated and unrealistic" Richard Rodriguez, one uses many rhetorical strategies. Rodriguez uses ethos in order to make you decide if it is right or not. He uses appeals to the audience’s emotions and finally gives his personal testimony in the examples. Rodriguez does not use personal examples, but when he does he uses a lot of imagery and emotion to create an example that is perfected. His position is based on the two sides of his childhood: his public language and his private language. Overall, His public language of a very rough English was used in the classroom at school and when he was on the streets of town. One’s private language of Spanish was used at home and bringing him a sense of safety when using it.

Rodriguez builds a formidable case against bilingual education with his bilingual childhood experiences. Rodriguez grew up speaking Spanish, but then learned how to speak English later in life so he knows what effects bilingual education has on bilingual kids who grew up speaking a private language at homes. When Rodriguez first came to the United States in Sacramento, California he understood “about fifty stray English words” (Richard Rodriguez “Aria: A Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood”). He was a Mexican immigrant whose family only knew how to speak Spanish. The neighbors of Rodriguez’s family didn’t like them, so when they were out walking they would tell Rodriguez’s parents “Keep your brats away from my sidewalk!” (Rodriguez 571). Rodriguez loses the “special feeling of closeness at home” when he learned English (Rodriguez 577). Personal experiences are what makes him a credible author. Rodriguez used strong ethos and pathos appeals, but he didn’t use strong logos appeals. He didn’t use facts or reasoning in his memoir to prove his points against bilingual education.

This organization is an early childhood center where children age 3 years old through 5th grade are engaged with a rigorous curriculum. It specializes in bilingual education, it is underscored by deep parent involvement, and serves low income families. This learning center exists to develop and operate a transforming learning community for urban children and their families who value education and promotes academic excellence and social competence. It will be referred to as “ECC”. This ECC is committed to promoting an educated child workforce. It is very important that all staff working for ECC

In the reading, What Linguistically Diverse Parents Know and how it can help Early Childhood Educators: A Case Study of a Dual Language Preschool Community, educator researcher Sara Michael-Luna conducted a 24 month ethnographic study looking at the experiences of immigrate Italian, bilingual, and middle class families at a private dual preschool. The study took place in a metropolitan area with preschool staff, and bilingual families with children ages 2.8-6 years old. The researchers reveal with underlying purposes of their research: (1) how do families of young children come to understand both formal and formal assessment data and (2) how educational institutions can be supported by families “capital” towards bilingual education.

Bilingual Education In this essay, “Bilingual Education is a Hindrance” by Jorge Amselle, on Oct 1996 in Chicago Tribune, the author was success full in making me feel and realize. Amselle reminds us that Hispanic parents who have an intention towards globalization want their children to read and write in English in public schools which have started bilingual education programs which provide a lot of opportunities with new languages as well as by learning their native language to their children. The author explains that(most of the parents like to place their children in bilingual education programs and more likely to be placed in English as a second language program which develops their skills than other languages.) Amselle had used a methodology to demonstrate his views on Bilingual education, he revealed that Bilingual education nourish child’s academic and career opportunity by having proficient knowledge in English.

Psychology involves studying the mental functioning and general behaviors of both humans and animals. Social behavior and mental functioning of an individual are explained by exploring the neurological and physiological processes. These include emotions, cognition, perception, motivation, attention, brain functioning and personality. Child psychology is as well stated to be the application of psychological techniques to children where it involves carrying out research on mental states and development of children. The development of the child both physically, mentally and emotionally, with the help of a parent allows the identification of helpful information to any evolving challenges in child’s behavior and

In recent years, much attention has been drawn to the bilingual education debate. Immigration is booming, and along with it the number of non-English-speaking children entering public schools. According to Thomas and Collier, "Language-minority students are predicted to account for about 40 percent of the school-age population by the 2030’s" (5). Bilingual programs in many areas have sparked a heated controversy, with many people claiming that non-English-speaking children, most notably Hispanics, are being disadvantaged by programs that simply don’t work.

    Bilingual education is the biggest issue that modern teachers deal with in their classrooms. Some parents and educators feel that it should be a standard part of our curriculum while others believe that non-English speakers should just learn English and immerse themselves in the language and the culture. In fact according to a poll taken in Florida, 98.1% of Hispanic parents want their children to learn English because it is a “universal language”(Mora). English can be used while doing business or just traveling as our economy has become very global. Yet at the same time, they also want their children to maintain their culture and learning using both Spanish and English seems to be the most effective. Bilingualism also supports high achievement academically and enhances areas of knowledge that monolinguals don’t achieve (Mora Modules). The best solution regarding bilingual education would be to implement dual immersion programs where students could maintain their own language while also

In “Aria: Memoir of a Bilingual Childhood”, Richard Rodriguez discusses two educational philosophies regarding bilingual education. (main topic and support)

When I began my coursework for EDUC 5425, my main goals were to enhance my knowledge of the past, present, and future of bilingual and multicultural education and to become more aware of the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) students in my Spanish classroom. As this course comes to an end, I am confident that I have made significant progress in meeting those two goals.