When I Think of Child Development

Henry Ward Beecher, reverand and social activist
"Children are the hands by which we take hold of heaven."
http://www.compassion.com/child-advocacy/find-your-voice/famous-quotes/

     This statement stood out to me because I believe that children are our gifts from God. They are the greatest accomplishment that we as mothers will ever achieve. As the children are a gift from God they means that they are our touch of heaven. This statement says everything that I feel when I am working with children and being a mom.

Testing for Intelligence

            What does a standardized test prove? This is the question that I answer when children take the standardized tests and they miss it by a few points and cannot be promoted to the next grade or graduate for that much. To me a standardized test is just something that the state has chosen to decide a child’s fate. Most children quit going to school once they have been held back due to a state tests. I have seen children make straight A’s all through school but fail the standardized tests. These tests have the power to keep graduates from taking the walk across the stage and getting their diploma. This is ridiculous because all these years children have been going through school passing, graduating, and accomplishing great things. How do these tests dictate how well a child is performing? Children learn and develop in different ways and I just feel that these tests do not control anything.  A test cannot dictate what children will learn, that is why they study.

            When conducting research I saw that in England they have a test that is considered a nationalized test that replaces the standard pencil and paper tests. This test is used as the children curriculum and is to help them learn as well as to contribute to their development. I just personally do not see how testing children determines their level in life. I can see and understand how it helps learn the learning patterns of the individual children because every child is different. This means that everyone has a different lifestyle and learning style. Children should only be tested to see what working level they are on so that the teacher can know exactly how to help them. I feel like the statement of letting children is children have completely been thrown out of the door.

References

Rotberg, I. (2006). Assessment Around the World. NCLB: Taking Stock, Looking Forward    Pages 58-63. Volume 64 | Number 3

Consequences of Stress on Children's Development

            The environments that we live in say a lot and have a major effect on our lives. Many may not understand why environmental things may affect our lives but it is our surroundings that help us become who we are. There are children that I now in the United States that have experienced racism, environmental pollution, violence, and disease. Most of these experiences start in the home and being away from home is the best option to survive. Most of the children I know were able to survive because they learned how to separate themselves from harmful situations and place themselves in a different environment. Violence happens in all neighborhoods and it starts with a disagreement between others. Diseases can happen in any country and it affects newborn babies just like it does children and adults. The only difference is that newborns are not given a choice on the actions that causes them to have the diseases. An infant can be born with a disease due to the decisions that the parents make. Noise can affect our train of thoughts as well as sleep. There are children in the poverty countries that are experiencing hunger because their country is poor. This is another way that the environmental issues affect our everyday lifestyles.

            Stressors such as the ones that we discussed have a serious effect on how a child’s development process operates. It can physically affect all areas of a child’s development because it can have a negative outcome. The environment can affect the way that a child learns because it can be something that breaks their concentration. If it is a stressor that affects a child’s sleeping patterns because no one can fully function without the necessary rest. Many do not understand how environmental issues can affect the way we function and operate. These types of activities can affect what the child may see and learn from what they have seen. Pollution can affect the drinking water and cause other infections and diseases to children and adults.