When I think of Child Development

Heart of a Teacher

by Paula Fox

The child arrives like a mystery box…

with puzzle pieces inside

some of the pieces are broken or missing…

and others just seem to hide

 But the HEART of a teacher can sort them out…

and help the child to see

the potential for greatness he has within…

a picture of what he can be

 Her goal isn’t just to teach knowledge…

by filling the box with more parts

it’s putting the pieces together…

to create a work of art

 The process is painfully slow at times…

some need more help than others

each child is a work in progress…

with assorted shapes and colors

 First she creates a classroom…

where the child can feel safe in school

where he never feels threatened or afraid to try…

and kindness is always the rule

 She knows that a child

can achieve much more

when he feels secure inside

 when he’s valued and loved…

and believes in himself…

and he has a sense of pride

 She models and teaches good character…

and respect for one another

how to focus on strengths…not weaknesses…

and how to encourage each other

 She gives the child the freedom he needs…

to make choices on his own

so he learns to become more responsible…

and is able to stand alone

 He’s taught to be strong and think for himself

as his soul and spirit heal

and the puzzle that’s taking shape inside…

has a much more positive feel

 The child discovers the joy that comes

from learning something new…

and his vision grows as he begins

to see all the things that he can do

 A picture is formed as more pieces fit…

an image of the child within

with greater strength and confidence…

and a belief that he can win!

 All because a hero was there…

in the HEART of a teacher who cared

enabling the child to become much more…

than he ever imagined…or dared

 A teacher with a HEART for her children…

knows what teaching is all about

she may not have all the answers…

but on this…she has no doubt

 When asked which subjects she loved to teach,

she answered this way and smiled…

“It’s not the subjects that matter…

It’s all about teaching the CHILD”

 © Paula Fox 2008

                                               Here are two additional quotes that I love

     

  

To My Colleagues,

I would like to take this opportunity to say thank you to Dr. Davis and to all of you for your support through the sharing of your ideas, insights and experiences throughout this course. By reading and participating in the group discussions and blogs, it has helped to inspire me to continue to seek greatness as I journey through my learning in the early childhood field. I look forward to working with you in future classes.  I wish all of you Good luck as we embark on our wonderful journey as professional in the Early Childhood Field. Thanks Again

Testing for Intelligence

In St. Lucia, teachers and children are under tremendous pressure to ensure that children perform well on standardized test which mainly focus on reading, writing and mathematics competencies. Hence, the children’s social and emotional development are not considered.  These tests are administered at the second grade, sixth grade and ninth grade.  Although, the tests for the second and ninth grades are said to be diagnostic in nature, the majority of the time the results are used to compare students, schools and districts.  The policy makers fail to realize that all children vary in the way they learn and as a result their method of testing should match their preferred learning style.  Additionally, children may perform poorly on these tests not because they do not know the content but as a result of test anxiety.  The test administered in the sixth grade is for placement purposes.

According to Katz (1997) assessment can serve many purposes.  Among them are:

·         To determine progress on significant developmental achievements

·         To make placement or promotion decisions

·         To diagnose learning and teaching problems

·         To help in instruction and curriculum decisions

·         To serve as a basis for reporting to parents

·         To assist a child with assessing his/her own progress (p.2)

Considering Katz’s suggestions, one could conclude that assessment has some valid purposes.  However, if we are to consider the child holistically then our testing methods and techniques should encompass the four educational goals of knowledge, skills, dispositions and feelings (Katz, 1997). Notwithstanding, our assessment methods and techniques should be varied so as to cater for all learning styles and preferences.  Likewise, we should not only use formal test, but we need to also assess children during informal activities and play as according to Katz (1997) this informal assessment will minimize the potential errors of various assessment strategies.

In assessments in China, there is a concentration on language development and as such assessment is based on children’s cognitive abilities and their use of the language in meaningful ways.  This is done through the use of classroom assessments and external assessments.  The classroom assessments take the form of performance based assessment tasks, self assessment, teacher observations, portfolios, quizzes and tests whereas the external assessments makes use of techniques which focus on children’s self assessments and reflections.  These testing instruments also allow the authorities to compare children nationally and internationally.

To sum up, I believe that assessments do play a vital role in students’ development.  Therefore, it is essential that we as educators cater to the holistic child by using varied assessment techniques that would not only test how much children learn and develop but would also allow children to reflect on the metacognition.

Katz, L. G. (1997) A developmental approach to assessment of young children. ERIC Digest. Retrieved from http://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED407172.pdf

Asia Society: Assessment (n.d.) Retrieved from http://asiasociety.org/education/chinese-language-initiatives/assessment