(no subject)
Monday is the worst day of every week because it signifies the end of a period of relaxation known as the weekend. As I walk down the hallways I hear 25 voices ringing in my head, knowing exactly which one belongs to the child out of line and I know that I know have a fifty minutes, thirty of which to eat and twenty to make sure that my classroom is prepped for my next lesson. Turning the corner and heading into the teachers' lounge wondering if there was anyway science had allowed for caffeine to be available in intravenous form. I find Piaget, Vygotsky, Erikson, and Kohlberg sitting there. A million questions are running through my head, the first if I am in an alternate universe, second if the paper ball that was meant for Kelly actually hit me and had a rock in it, and third if there is a pen and paper in my pocket so that I don’t miss on this once in a lifetime opportunity to pick their brains even if this is all in my head.
The first question I asked them seemed simple enough. "What is the role of the family in a child’s education, especially with children ages four and five?" Piaget jumped straight in with an answer, “It is the job of parents to provide children with toys that stimulate imaginative and sociodramatic play, provide crayons, paper, glue, and listen, sing, dance, and respond to their children (Puckett and Diffily 2004).” Erikson added that “ the earliest experiences and interactions with the people who are most important to the infant and child are the foundation for the rest of that child’s life (Puckett and Diffily 2004) so I need to make sure that with my students I remain warm and positive, but also give them structure and boundaries so that they know what they can and cannot do. (Sternberg and Williams 78).” Piaget and Erikson seemed to focus on interactions of a physical nature; Vygotsky is decided to take a more psychological approach through his theory of socioculturization. “When a child sees their parents having a healthy discussion or even a fight children can learn how to argue for what they believe in if they are arguing with their friends or internally (Sternberg and Williams 51). It is the job of the parents to be models for the children to figure out how they can function in society. ” Kohlberg decided to insult all of the others by saying that, “the only obligation that a parent has for children at that age is to make them obedient members of society, especially in the house and in the classroom to make the life of the teacher easier (Puckett and Difflily 102)
Afraid that the men were about to blow up at each other, I asked another question. Why is it important to discipline an unruly child in a classroom? Piaget started in with the fact “that children who are four and five are in the preoperational stage of thinking and because of that they have a hard time understanding other people’s perspective on many things which is why if you are going to discipline a student you should use positive discipline where your voice is not raised and encouragements are given (Puckett and Diffily 105)”. Kohlberg agreed that “children absolutely need the threat of punishment because that’s why the rules are obeyed, it is the first stage of moral development (Sternberg and Williams 78).” Erickson jumped in by saying that “young children at the ages of four and five years are in the initiative vs. guilt stage where children learn to assert themselves in ways that are considered socially acceptable and take initiative when it comes to relationships and tasks in everyday life. In order to do this children have to have boundaries given to them when teachers and parents give them rules as well as consequences for not following those rules (Sternberg and Williams 78).” Vygotsky brought up his theory of zone proximal development, which is the difference between a child’s level of independent performance and the level of performance a child can reach with expert guidance. The reason why there is even such a thing as a zone of proximal difference is because some person takes the time to give a child time, attention, and most importantly rules. These three things give children the expert guidance that they need in order to achieve much more socially as well as academically. If a student is not given these three things by teachers or parents then there is a great chance that they will not achieve as much as the students who have gotten the guidance they have needed. (Sternberg and Williams 52).
I’m glad that they could agree that rules given children the opportunity to attain more, but I wouldn’t help but wondered what they thought the best method would be for learning new information. From the few college textbooks that I had kept I knew that Piaget and Vygotsky had two different opinions so I directed the question to them. Vygotsky jumped in and said, “that cognitive development was more dependant on the interactions that children have with the adults in their lives. They serve as teachers to the young child and allows the child to enter into the process of scaffolding, where the level of assistance an adult gives becomes limited as the child learns more and more about the subject matter being taught (Puckett and Diffily 107).” Piaget disagreed saying, “that cognitive development actually occurs when the individual interacts with their environment, developing concepts by constructing mental schemata, organizing them into higher mental structures, and then adapting or adjusting them according to the demands of the environment that the child finds themselves in (Puckett and Diffily 103).
As I opened my mouth to ask what I thought was going to be my final question Jean Piaget looked right at me and said, “We have given you quite a bit of information. I would like to ask you a question. What lessons of ours have you implemented and or seen in your own classroom?” My response was, “One of the main things that I have seen in my classroom, that came from you Mr. Piaget, is that the thinking process of my students is definitely egocentric, where the child has difficulty understanding another person’s point of view (Puckett and Diffily 105). For example, one of my students, Julie saw that her best friend named Ashley was upset. When she saw the tears running down Ashley’s face, Julie gave Ashley her favorite stuffed bunny. She offered her friend the thing that she found most comforting and did not understand when Ashley thrust the bunny away because she couldn’t imagine that her friend would not have the same feelings for the bunny that she does.”
“One of the things that I have made sure to emphasize to the parents of my students that I learned from you Mr. Erikson is the fact that “the social environment in which children grow, develop, and learn can influence personality development (Puckett and Diffily 101).” It is because of this fact, that I have made sure that my classroom is one that gives the students a feeling of safety, happiness, and that they can do anything that they set their mind to. I make sure to involve my students involved in activities that promote social skills and language development. I make sure to let them know that I am willing to incorporate their ideas into the lessons that we are learning and to make learning a fun process. I make sure to communicate everything that is going on in my classroom to the parents of my students so that they have every opportunity to practice the lessons that I am teaching their children in class because the more people involved in the education of the next generation, the opportunities they have at succeeding in life.”
One of the many things that I have observed in my classroom among my students is what I believe that you, Mr. Vygotsky, would call the process of inner speech. “Inner speech is speech to oneself that directs behavior and assists in understanding (Puckett and Diffily 107).” My students have certain extension of this when they are playing with blocks, writing, drawing, coloring, etc. and they silently talk to themselves in order to get a hold on exactly what they are doing. I even do it most of the time when I am writing a paper, figuring out some kind of crisis, and even while reading books.
One of the things that I have learned from you Mr. Kohlberg is that ‘concrete materials and meaningful experiences support children as they construct their own mathematical information (Devries and Kohlberg, 1990).’ One of the activities that I have my students do at the math center is that I have them create equations for a certain number using manipulatives such as beans, keys, poker chips, etc. and have each child draw pictures of the various combinations. This one activity alone promotes logical-mathematical intelligence, visual and kinesthetic learning styles, interpersonal intelligence (when working in small groups), following multi-step instructions, the recall of details, and many more.
The men sitting across from me had pretty interesting looks of their faces, as if they figured I was just going to reiterate everything that they had told me and were surprised that I had chosen lessons to the contrary. Kohlberg spoke first, “All of us are glad to know that our lives were not wasted by figuring out the ways in which children learn and develop. It means so much to be able to hear not only that the lessons we have taught are applied, but how they are applied for a new generation of learners.” Erikson added, “I know that teachers do not get the respect they deserve monetarily and many times by other people who have jobs outside the education system so I am glad to see that there still individuals who are committed to the education of the next generation despite the drawbacks.” Vygotsky opened his mouth as if he wanted to speak, but I beat him to it, “There are drawbacks to any job. Even medical professionals, with all the money that they make nowadays, have to spends hours away from their families depending on where they work. The thing is that if you love what you do, the drawbacks really don’t matter as much as you think they will. Sure, sometimes I might have a hard time paying the bills, especially when I first start (that happens with everyone when they first get out in the real world) and if for some reason I become a single mother with kids to feed, it might to tougher some months than others, but if I can see a child’s face light up when they finally get something after working at for days or even weeks, if I can make sure that my students have fond memories through the activities that we have done throughout the year, and if I can make sure that at the end of that year that I have given my students and great foundation for their future educational endeavors, then I could be living off of baked beans without electricity and it will all still be worth it.
Before the men could reply, the bell rang so I turned towards the door on instinct. Suddenly, remembering I had been talking to people, I turned around to thank them, but they were gone. Maybe it was all in my head, maybe I had a psychotic break, but within the fifty-minute planning period that I had spent talking to great educational minds I learned a lot for my students and about myself.
The first question I asked them seemed simple enough. "What is the role of the family in a child’s education, especially with children ages four and five?" Piaget jumped straight in with an answer, “It is the job of parents to provide children with toys that stimulate imaginative and sociodramatic play, provide crayons, paper, glue, and listen, sing, dance, and respond to their children (Puckett and Diffily 2004).” Erikson added that “ the earliest experiences and interactions with the people who are most important to the infant and child are the foundation for the rest of that child’s life (Puckett and Diffily 2004) so I need to make sure that with my students I remain warm and positive, but also give them structure and boundaries so that they know what they can and cannot do. (Sternberg and Williams 78).” Piaget and Erikson seemed to focus on interactions of a physical nature; Vygotsky is decided to take a more psychological approach through his theory of socioculturization. “When a child sees their parents having a healthy discussion or even a fight children can learn how to argue for what they believe in if they are arguing with their friends or internally (Sternberg and Williams 51). It is the job of the parents to be models for the children to figure out how they can function in society. ” Kohlberg decided to insult all of the others by saying that, “the only obligation that a parent has for children at that age is to make them obedient members of society, especially in the house and in the classroom to make the life of the teacher easier (Puckett and Difflily 102)
Afraid that the men were about to blow up at each other, I asked another question. Why is it important to discipline an unruly child in a classroom? Piaget started in with the fact “that children who are four and five are in the preoperational stage of thinking and because of that they have a hard time understanding other people’s perspective on many things which is why if you are going to discipline a student you should use positive discipline where your voice is not raised and encouragements are given (Puckett and Diffily 105)”. Kohlberg agreed that “children absolutely need the threat of punishment because that’s why the rules are obeyed, it is the first stage of moral development (Sternberg and Williams 78).” Erickson jumped in by saying that “young children at the ages of four and five years are in the initiative vs. guilt stage where children learn to assert themselves in ways that are considered socially acceptable and take initiative when it comes to relationships and tasks in everyday life. In order to do this children have to have boundaries given to them when teachers and parents give them rules as well as consequences for not following those rules (Sternberg and Williams 78).” Vygotsky brought up his theory of zone proximal development, which is the difference between a child’s level of independent performance and the level of performance a child can reach with expert guidance. The reason why there is even such a thing as a zone of proximal difference is because some person takes the time to give a child time, attention, and most importantly rules. These three things give children the expert guidance that they need in order to achieve much more socially as well as academically. If a student is not given these three things by teachers or parents then there is a great chance that they will not achieve as much as the students who have gotten the guidance they have needed. (Sternberg and Williams 52).
I’m glad that they could agree that rules given children the opportunity to attain more, but I wouldn’t help but wondered what they thought the best method would be for learning new information. From the few college textbooks that I had kept I knew that Piaget and Vygotsky had two different opinions so I directed the question to them. Vygotsky jumped in and said, “that cognitive development was more dependant on the interactions that children have with the adults in their lives. They serve as teachers to the young child and allows the child to enter into the process of scaffolding, where the level of assistance an adult gives becomes limited as the child learns more and more about the subject matter being taught (Puckett and Diffily 107).” Piaget disagreed saying, “that cognitive development actually occurs when the individual interacts with their environment, developing concepts by constructing mental schemata, organizing them into higher mental structures, and then adapting or adjusting them according to the demands of the environment that the child finds themselves in (Puckett and Diffily 103).
As I opened my mouth to ask what I thought was going to be my final question Jean Piaget looked right at me and said, “We have given you quite a bit of information. I would like to ask you a question. What lessons of ours have you implemented and or seen in your own classroom?” My response was, “One of the main things that I have seen in my classroom, that came from you Mr. Piaget, is that the thinking process of my students is definitely egocentric, where the child has difficulty understanding another person’s point of view (Puckett and Diffily 105). For example, one of my students, Julie saw that her best friend named Ashley was upset. When she saw the tears running down Ashley’s face, Julie gave Ashley her favorite stuffed bunny. She offered her friend the thing that she found most comforting and did not understand when Ashley thrust the bunny away because she couldn’t imagine that her friend would not have the same feelings for the bunny that she does.”
“One of the things that I have made sure to emphasize to the parents of my students that I learned from you Mr. Erikson is the fact that “the social environment in which children grow, develop, and learn can influence personality development (Puckett and Diffily 101).” It is because of this fact, that I have made sure that my classroom is one that gives the students a feeling of safety, happiness, and that they can do anything that they set their mind to. I make sure to involve my students involved in activities that promote social skills and language development. I make sure to let them know that I am willing to incorporate their ideas into the lessons that we are learning and to make learning a fun process. I make sure to communicate everything that is going on in my classroom to the parents of my students so that they have every opportunity to practice the lessons that I am teaching their children in class because the more people involved in the education of the next generation, the opportunities they have at succeeding in life.”
One of the many things that I have observed in my classroom among my students is what I believe that you, Mr. Vygotsky, would call the process of inner speech. “Inner speech is speech to oneself that directs behavior and assists in understanding (Puckett and Diffily 107).” My students have certain extension of this when they are playing with blocks, writing, drawing, coloring, etc. and they silently talk to themselves in order to get a hold on exactly what they are doing. I even do it most of the time when I am writing a paper, figuring out some kind of crisis, and even while reading books.
One of the things that I have learned from you Mr. Kohlberg is that ‘concrete materials and meaningful experiences support children as they construct their own mathematical information (Devries and Kohlberg, 1990).’ One of the activities that I have my students do at the math center is that I have them create equations for a certain number using manipulatives such as beans, keys, poker chips, etc. and have each child draw pictures of the various combinations. This one activity alone promotes logical-mathematical intelligence, visual and kinesthetic learning styles, interpersonal intelligence (when working in small groups), following multi-step instructions, the recall of details, and many more.
The men sitting across from me had pretty interesting looks of their faces, as if they figured I was just going to reiterate everything that they had told me and were surprised that I had chosen lessons to the contrary. Kohlberg spoke first, “All of us are glad to know that our lives were not wasted by figuring out the ways in which children learn and develop. It means so much to be able to hear not only that the lessons we have taught are applied, but how they are applied for a new generation of learners.” Erikson added, “I know that teachers do not get the respect they deserve monetarily and many times by other people who have jobs outside the education system so I am glad to see that there still individuals who are committed to the education of the next generation despite the drawbacks.” Vygotsky opened his mouth as if he wanted to speak, but I beat him to it, “There are drawbacks to any job. Even medical professionals, with all the money that they make nowadays, have to spends hours away from their families depending on where they work. The thing is that if you love what you do, the drawbacks really don’t matter as much as you think they will. Sure, sometimes I might have a hard time paying the bills, especially when I first start (that happens with everyone when they first get out in the real world) and if for some reason I become a single mother with kids to feed, it might to tougher some months than others, but if I can see a child’s face light up when they finally get something after working at for days or even weeks, if I can make sure that my students have fond memories through the activities that we have done throughout the year, and if I can make sure that at the end of that year that I have given my students and great foundation for their future educational endeavors, then I could be living off of baked beans without electricity and it will all still be worth it.
Before the men could reply, the bell rang so I turned towards the door on instinct. Suddenly, remembering I had been talking to people, I turned around to thank them, but they were gone. Maybe it was all in my head, maybe I had a psychotic break, but within the fifty-minute planning period that I had spent talking to great educational minds I learned a lot for my students and about myself.