I believe children should have the opportunity to create a bond with teachers in order to begin learning. It is very important for teachers offer different learning opportunities because every child learns differently and learns in different paces. From my experience, I work with a girl with autism. Teachers give her loads of homework and projects for her to complete with minimal instructions. My client is a very determined student that always want to get the job done. She will make the effort to do her work during break, lunch, after school program, and home. I would suggest her to take breaks but she would refuse. This cuts out all her opportunities to interact with her peers and teachers. From this result I had asked her counselor if we could minimize her work load or find some other alternative to help her balance her school and social life.
In conclusion, I am still trying to find ways on how to make children feel balanced with school and fun. Children also need to learn appropriate social skills when media is beginning to be very inappropriate. But I'll always have questions to be solved. What can you do to encourage children to socialize with their peers or teachers? What incentives can I offer my client to take a break?
Hi Bree,
ReplyDeleteYour experience with a student with special needs is another perspective on the readings. As you describe, your client is placed in a position where socialization and relationships are secondary to completing the academic work. Yet, the client seems to be aware of the culture of learning perpetuated in school -- do your academic work, school is not a place for socialization. Is this so different from the child without special needs? Do children learn the culture and continue to pursue the norms of the culture even at the cost of socialization and relationship?
If this became a conversation for administrations and policymakers to discuss, would our current heavily-based academic system be debunked? What would this mean for the construct of school, the role of teachers, and how children perceive their role as students?
Jeanne
You mentioned that children need the opportunity to bond with their teacher in order for learning to occur. The truth is though that there is an occasional child that for some reason does not form a bond with their teacher/caregiver. In my experience, there are always degrees of bonding. Some children form a close bond with their caregiver while others seem very aloof and sort of have a wall up. One reason could be different temperaments of the child and caregiver. I wonder how much of an impact this has on a child's learning. If the child seems comfortable with everything else about coming to daycare, participates in activities, and plays with the other children, will their learning and/or development be affected? I tend to think "no" but I could be wrong.
ReplyDeleteHi Breena!
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that students should have the opportunity to bond with their homeroom teachers in order to start their learning. This is one important step for a student to trust their teacher and their teacher to see what type of student they are working with. Now, here’s my question: When you say balance do you mean 50/50? Half school work and half fun?