Monthly Archives: March 2010

Mar 7 2010

Stuff and TV’s

Our society has an unfortunate tendency to value objects over human experiences.  You talk about parents who buy their children toys to make up for their chronic absence.  The irony is that parents are often absent because they themselves are pursuing inanimate objects; money and the things money can buy.  As a result, the children learn to seek comfort in what they have, which is inanimate objects.  That training sticks with them as they grow to adulthood and the cycle becomes self-replicating.

Likewise, you talk about using the TV to babysit after a hard day at work.  I certainly understand that choice, my daughter is watching Peter Pan right now while my wife and I work on papers.  For me, TV viewing needs to be managed with two interactive variables in mind.  First, TV can be a positive for a child’s development, in the right doses and with the right content.  Second, that dose of TV needs to be in proportion to the other stimulants in the child’s life.  For example, our daughter had a full social weekend, including having family time with three children here this morning and the TV she’s watching Peter Pan – in Spanish.  This educational downtime is in proportion with her life and, thus, passes the test.

Our friends shared a wonderful adage with us this morning, “Don’t cry for things that can’t cry for you.”  Children learn what they live and it is essential for them to learn that inanimate objects are only a small part of a balanced, healthy life.

Mar 5 2010

Who We Are and Who We’re Not

Do you believe that their (sic) exists a problem with praise when it is constantly targeting only one narrow aspect of the ‘whole’ individual? Do you think it problematic when any individually relies heavily on a physical characteristic as opposed to an intellectual one?

I believe that all children have strengths and weaknesses. It does them no good to be taught that everything they do is perfect. Ten minutes watching the American Idol try-out episodes demonstrates the risks well. On the other hand, it is not ok to belittle a child’s attributes. We all need to understand that we are fully formed and wonderful in all our human weakness. Given any category, there is only one in seven billion of us who is the best. The rest of us are all some degree of worse. So it’s not really about some flavor of “winning” or being the best. Life is about each human recognizing “who they are and who they are not” and moving forward clear in that knowledge. Who we are may well be largely physical. Kinesthetic learners will most likely find themselves expressing themselves through their bodies, whether in the Joffrey, the NBA or something less dramatic. For some people, their beauty is their defining characteristic and they contribute with it. While it was not her only strength, there’s no doubt that Princess Di contributed from “beauty.”

Thus, for me, life is about truth. Each person’s ‘whole individual’ is enough because we all are. We each have different attributes that contribute to us and to others in different ways. Understanding what those are is something parents can help a child discover. These may be physical, they may be mental, they may be temperamental. There is wonderful diversity in what each of us can contribute. Allowing a child to explore the alternatives and helping them find their essences is a big part of parenting.

Mar 5 2010

Lonely Jessica

Three-year-old Jessica lives in the country where there are no other preschoolers nearby. Her parents wonder whether it is worth driving Jessica into town once a week to play with her 1-year-old cousin. Based on the readings we have done for this course, what advice would you give to Jessica’s parents and why?

I would tell Jessica’s parents that, in all likelihood, once a week is hardly enough. I would tell them that the first five years of a child’s life set patterns that are very reliable and persistent. I would tell them that stimulation is all important during this time. I would tell them kindly and forcefully that Jessica’s future will most likely be heavily influenced by their decisions and actions over the next several years.

  • I would quote Ramey & Ramey (2004), “children’s experiences prior to kindergarten entry are correlated with degree of cognitive development and school readiness as measured by standardized assessments of cognitive and linguistic performance.”
  • I would show them studies that show that “children enrolled in Head Start or other enriched preschool programs show a gain of about 10 IQ points during the year of the Head Start experience compared to similar children without such experience” (Bee & Boyd, 2007, p. 197).
  • I would point them to studies of imprinting and baby ducks (Bee & Boyd, 2007, p. 6).
  • I would introduce them to the concept of “programmed plasticity” and tell them “this period of maximum plasticity is also the period in which the child may be most vulnerable to major restrictions on intellectual stimulation—such as physical or emotional neglect—making these early years a kind of critical period for brain development” (Bee & Boyd, 2007, p. 95).
  • I would point them to Wikipedia articles on “Critical Period” (“Critical period”, 2010) and “Sensitive Period” (“Sensitive periods”, 2010).

However, balancing the needs of Jessica and their living situation I would give them this advice as well:

  • Fill her life with stimulation: varied play environments, toys, tastes, textures, smells, and experiences.
  • Fill her mind with life: read to her, play music for her, show her nature and art and beautiful things.
  • Give her your love and attention and make sure she knows that she has both.
  • Make her know that she is special by always treating her as special.
  • Find her friends to play with. Ideally, many of these friends would be around her age, but interactions with any caring human are better than fewer.
  • I’ll repeat it, because nothing compares to human interaction: find her kids to play with… often.
  • If there are times when the lack of stimulation can’t be helped, let her watch educational television like Sesame Street. But be selective, TV is more bad than good and only the finest and best designed shows can overcome this to supply a positive outcome.

Then I’d recap and tell them that her brain is learning and developing at unimaginable rates. She needs as much varied stimulation and human contact as possible. It is not optional. It is not “nice to have.” It is their moral obligation to provide stimulation, attention and love, just as it is to provide food and shelter.

References

Bee, H., & Boyd, B. (2007). The developing child (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.

Critical period. (2010). In Wikipedia. Retrieved March 5, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Critical_period

Ramey, C. T., & Ramey, S. L. (2004, October). Early learning and school readiness: Can early intervention make a difference?. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 50(4), 471-491. Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu/login?uri=/journals/merrill-palmer_quarterly/v050/50.4ramey.html

Sensitive periods. (2010). In Wikipedia. Retrieved March 5, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensitive_periods

Mar 3 2010

Discipline, Part Four

If we think of a child as starting the day with a certain self-esteem level, our goal as teachers should be to find a way to send those same children home with more self-esteem. That is so hard for me. I am wired to expect good behavior and punish disruptive behavior and/or inattentiveness. I’m not a disciplinarian and I hold relationship with the class, even in corrections, but I still work from that instinct. Fortunately, the teacher I work with is a model of positive reinforcement. She is constantly scanning the room in order to find a student “doing something right.” It works. Our class is orderly and quick to settle down. Perhaps more importantly the time and stress of strict discipline is avoided. The children, even the boys, feel loved and appreciated. Even the boys with higher natural physicality, lower maturity levels and bigger cognitive deficits feel taken care of and safe. It’s rare and wonderful.

I took a class from a wonderful student of matters educational, Gary Benton. His argument is that at a minimum, children need to receive three positives for every negative. With troubled children, his ratio goes to seven to one. I remember him saying that, if the situation is challenging enough, it may be necessary to say something like, “that’s great, I really like the way you threw yourself against the wall.” Obviously, that’s an extreme, but his point is that almost any positive becomes a way to slowly walk the child back from the self-destructive cycle of punishment and failure. I believe he’s right.

Having said that, I guess it depends on what a teacher sees as his or her role. I see my role as bringing out the best in each and every child. And I believe each and every child wants success. Maybe I need to think of praise as praising their aspirations AND their behavior at the same time. Anyway, I’ve seen how well it works and I want more of it.

References

Benton, G. (2004). Fire spitters: a workbook for parents (and others) who want to successfully deal with a difficult and angry child. Victoria, B.C.: Trafford.

Benton, G. (2008). Succeeding with the difficult young child (preschool – second grade). Bellevue, WA: Bureau of Education & Research.

Mar 3 2010

Media Violence

What is the influence of media on children’s development, including aggression, ethnic and gender stereotypes, consumerism, and academic learning?

Bee & Boyd (2007) puts the question in perspective very well: “Television… is an educational medium.  Children learn from what they watch” (p. 411).  One study after another demonstrates the effectiveness of visual media (e.g. television, video games, movies, etc) as a teaching tool.

If the media is Sesame Street or Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood or even positively themed but less intentionally educational media like Lassie, viewers benefit.  Whether fostering racial tolerance, kindness, helpfulness, vocabulary or school readiness, TV shows have been shown to be correlated with positive outcomes for viewing children (Bee & Boyd, 2007, p. 408-409).  On the other hand, violent TV shows have been shown to correlate concurrently and longitudinally with poorer grades, lower test scores and the less developed reading skills (Bee & Boyd, p. 409).  More disturbingly, TV has been show to correlate with emotional desensitization and increases in aggressive behavior.  One study found the incidence of aggressive acts immediately following viewing of a popular, violent children’s show increased sevenfold (Bee & Boyd, p. 410).  Another study links the watching of violent television at age eight with serious criminal behavior 20 years later (Bee & Boyd, p. 410).  There also seems to be a dangerous vicious circle as regards violence and media, “the more violent television programs children watch, the more violent video games they prefer, and the more aggressively they behave toward peers (Mediascope, 1999)” (Bee & Boyd, p. 412).   

Bee & Boyd (2007) quote L.D. Eron’s testimony to Congress that makes an excellent summary of the subject: “There can no longer be any doubt that heavy exposure to televised violence is one of the causes of aggressive behavior, crime and violence in society.  The evidence comes from both the laboratory and real-life studies.  Television violence affects youngsters of all ages, of both genders, at all socioeconomic levels and all levels of intelligence.  The effect is not limited to children who are already disposed to being aggressive and is not restricted to this country. (Eron, 1992, p. S8539)” (p. 410-411).

Reference

Bee, H., & Boyd, B. (2007). The developing child (11th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.