The greatest sign of success for a teacher is to be able to say, "The children are now working as if I did not exist." Montessori
"Free the child's potential, and you will transform him into the world". Maria Montessori
"It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men". Frederick Douglass
Sunday, December 19, 2010
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Testing for Intelligence?
On the subject of viewing children holistically I believe that tests should cover much more than acedamic skills such as reading and mathematics. Children have many learning styles and they should all be included in intelligence tests. If a child learns through hands on experiences and seeing, then expecting that child to listen to instructions without giving concrete handson relationships is not teaching to the whole child and test results will be inaccurate for these children.
Studies have shown that traditional "IQ" tests work well at predicting academic success but fall short of testing children's "emotional intelligence". These predictions of success may not only be wrong, but they may create inaccurate expectations for children and their parents. Psychologist and author Daniel Goleman offers a new concept not only for predicting school success, but future life success. He suggests that a number of ingredients add up to good "emotional intelligence," including self-control or impulse control, the ability to motivate one's self, persistence, optimism, self-umderstanding, empathy, the art of listening to others. He feels that children with superior cognitive skills do not always live up to their promise because they do not always possess solid emotional intelligence (Brodkin, A,M. 2010).
I looked at Europe, specifically Switzerland, to see how children were assessed and found that special agencies in each of the Swiss Cantons were responsible for the investigatory procedures. The special education needs are mostly identified by medical doctors and early intervention specialists including school psychologists but the final decision is made by the school administrative board. There is no standard instrument available at this time but orientation on ICF is under discussion.
I found my research on intelligence testing very informative. My youngest son has just been tested for the "gifted" program. Before this assignment I had very little knowledge on the way he was tested, as to whether or not he was tested with the whole child in mind. I will be a more active participant in his education plan because of this new knowledge I have aquired.
References:
www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/earlycld/ea500.htm
Brodkin, Adele. Scholastic Parents. using your head and your heart
www.who.int/classifications/icf/en
Studies have shown that traditional "IQ" tests work well at predicting academic success but fall short of testing children's "emotional intelligence". These predictions of success may not only be wrong, but they may create inaccurate expectations for children and their parents. Psychologist and author Daniel Goleman offers a new concept not only for predicting school success, but future life success. He suggests that a number of ingredients add up to good "emotional intelligence," including self-control or impulse control, the ability to motivate one's self, persistence, optimism, self-umderstanding, empathy, the art of listening to others. He feels that children with superior cognitive skills do not always live up to their promise because they do not always possess solid emotional intelligence (Brodkin, A,M. 2010).
I looked at Europe, specifically Switzerland, to see how children were assessed and found that special agencies in each of the Swiss Cantons were responsible for the investigatory procedures. The special education needs are mostly identified by medical doctors and early intervention specialists including school psychologists but the final decision is made by the school administrative board. There is no standard instrument available at this time but orientation on ICF is under discussion.
I found my research on intelligence testing very informative. My youngest son has just been tested for the "gifted" program. Before this assignment I had very little knowledge on the way he was tested, as to whether or not he was tested with the whole child in mind. I will be a more active participant in his education plan because of this new knowledge I have aquired.
References:
www.ncrel.org/sdrs/areas/issues/students/earlycld/ea500.htm
Brodkin, Adele. Scholastic Parents. using your head and your heart
www.who.int/classifications/icf/en
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Week 4 Consequences of Stress on Children's Development
The stressor that I chose was the affects of war on children's development. I haven't really been through any of these stressors myself, nor do I know anyone who has been through any of these. I may have been exposed to some minor chaos and violence while growing up but I don't feel like I can put my situation on the same level as those who severely deal with this to the extreme on a daily basis. I can somewhat relate to some of the effects of PTSD as I have dealt with symptoms for some years now from the effects of a tramatic event as a child.
I chose the region of Afghanistan to focus on the effects of war on children. PTSD is high due to family violence caused by high levels of stress stemming from the war. Other issues stemming from war is: displacement, lack of food, interruption of school, intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance behaviors, mental disorders, and increased levels of arrousal. More common side affects of PTSD include: guilt, depression, anxiety, poor appetite, difficulty concentrating, difficulty relaxing, aggressive outbursts, poor interactions, fear of darkness, and strong effect on emotional development. There are 35,000 street children due to the war in Afghanistan with 25,000 children dying of malnutrition. Every 3 hours a child is blown up due to hidden mines, 7 out of 10 children have lost parents and 72% have lost relatives since the war began (Dev Psychopathol. 2001). I found much more information on bio-behavior consequences of war on chidren's mental health, growth and development at http://www.internetandpsychiatry.com/
I couldn't find much on the efforts to minimize harm to children except groups such as UNICEF having a Polio campaign in addition to helping with nutrition, water sanitation, obstetric care and provisions for non food issues. The United Nations has also brought immunization campaigns to the region.
I chose the region of Afghanistan to focus on the effects of war on children. PTSD is high due to family violence caused by high levels of stress stemming from the war. Other issues stemming from war is: displacement, lack of food, interruption of school, intrusive thoughts, flashbacks, nightmares, avoidance behaviors, mental disorders, and increased levels of arrousal. More common side affects of PTSD include: guilt, depression, anxiety, poor appetite, difficulty concentrating, difficulty relaxing, aggressive outbursts, poor interactions, fear of darkness, and strong effect on emotional development. There are 35,000 street children due to the war in Afghanistan with 25,000 children dying of malnutrition. Every 3 hours a child is blown up due to hidden mines, 7 out of 10 children have lost parents and 72% have lost relatives since the war began (Dev Psychopathol. 2001). I found much more information on bio-behavior consequences of war on chidren's mental health, growth and development at http://www.internetandpsychiatry.com/
I couldn't find much on the efforts to minimize harm to children except groups such as UNICEF having a Polio campaign in addition to helping with nutrition, water sanitation, obstetric care and provisions for non food issues. The United Nations has also brought immunization campaigns to the region.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
