Human development

Running head: REFLECTION PAPER

Reflection Paper
Patrick Moriarty
Seattle Pacific University

Reflection Paper
When thinking about human development in terms of how or why a person changes as they grow, I would have to keep in mind the different traits associated with development. A child will develop physically, mentally (or cognitively), personally, and socially. As a young educator, it is incredibly difficult to be conscious of all of this because of the many other aspects of teaching that I have to be strengthening and improving constantly.
Only recently have I begun to think about how a child will develop physically not only in their adolescence, but also on into adulthood. I’m making a bit of a career move from language arts to health fitness and have been learning how to teach students activities that are not only healthy, but fun as well. These are activities that will hopefully be carried along into a child’s adult life. Riding a unicycle will help a student with balance and coordination, is fun, and can be done as the child grows older. Because obesity is such a problem in society, teaching children about their bodies and how to properly eat and exercise ultimately will help with the problem. I understand now that our current fitness programs will have to undergo a radical change in order to solve this problem. One way of doing this is to provide activities in which all students are participating at all times. Having the jocks of the class run a kickball game while others stand around bored is not an effective way to help with our obesity epidemic. Some schools have already made the change, and many more will need to if we want to see our children develop in a more healthy, physical way.
Critical thinking has been the most important focus of my pedagogy. I see the philosophies of both Rousseau and Locke in how I teach students to be critical thinkers. Through Socratic seminars, students are given the opportunity to learn from each other and build off of other students’ ideas. As their teacher, I merely guide them with questions, and offer no solutions, in hopes that they formulate new feelings or thoughts on their own. I like Rousseau’s idea that we need to, “Give children a chance to learn in ways that come naturally to them and to learn on their own” (Crain, 2005). However, I believe an important factor in education is introducing students to ideas that they would not have thought of on their own at such an early age. If we want the world to be a safer, more conscious place to live, children need to be taught what is happening elsewhere and why. Most of what I teach is world literature; art that you would not normally know about through modern media. In most cases, students would not come across this literature unless they searched for it. “[Teachers] are not prepared to rely too heavily on children’s intrinsic motivation to learn on their own” (Crain, 2005). Our students are naturally curious about the world, but they do need guidance, which is why we have education.
Social conformity is something all students struggle with. At the high school level, students are faced with making decisions about “who” to become. They decide on a style of clothing, a group of friends, and certain interests. I would hope that the students have been able to make their choices based on their independent beliefs, but I know they are influenced by their family, friends and the media. “[Rousseau] saw adults teaching children social manners and beliefs before children have the ability to judge them according to their own powers of reasoning” (Crain, 2005). When teaching certain ideas, I do my best to allow students to form their own opinions about certain perceptions of society. Some of the best conversations I have had with students have come out of teaching books like Lord of the Flies, 1984 and Night. I know how I feel, about these ideas, but I always play the devils advocate in hopes that students formulate their own beliefs about our topics. One of my favorite questions to pose to the class is: Can an idea exist if there are no words to convey it? Again, I know how I feel about this, but I push each student as far as I can so that they are forced to think as deeply as possible about the answer to this. With some topics such as abortion or marijuana, there is a fine line an educator has to walk in helping students judge for themselves whether or not society manages these issues correctly. The last thing I would want to do as an educator is, “make children the slaves of social conventions” (Crain, 2005).
As I continue to mature as a teacher, focusing on a child’s development will become of greater importance. Going into my 5th year, I am just starting to notice patterns in which my students appear to develop. I will continue studying, learning and applying ways in which student’s develop and ways in which I can nurture their development to help them become free and responsible thinkers.

References
Crain, W. (2005). Theories of development. (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.