After reading Chapters 3, 4, and 5 of LifeSmart, it was a walk down high school memory lane. Learning about how infants are conceived and how chromosomes are composed brought back some good old fashion health class 101 stuff. All jokes aside, the more I read the chapters, the more I understood how the infant stage is critical in someone's life development. For the most part, scientific data only provides estimates. Therefore, there is no final conclusion on every aspect on a child's biological development. What can be determined is how an infant's surrounding environment can help develop their mental, social and physical traits.
While there can be challenges involving infants who are born with diseases or defects, it doesn't influence the characteristics of an infant. Chapter 4 elaborates on how a quality environment can result in an infants characteristics. The chapter notes that newborns adapt from birth to 1 month during their "Neonate" period. This period is where newborns develop their senses and reflexes. As a newborn develops their senses, they will adapt to their environment that surrounds them. As a kid, I remember how if feels to be appreciated by my parents when I did something well. At the same time, I remember how I got in trouble for doing something wrong. My classmate John Grayson blogged in his last post about how he has developed a sense of security because his dad was a police officer. A newborn's development will always begin in the environment in which they are being raised in.
As noted in Chapter 5, psychologist Jean Piaget relates how biological, psychological and social factors affect an infant's development in the environment. Those factors begin with the parent themselves and the parent must make adjustments according to what is in the best interest of the infant. As parents, we help develop an infant's development in forming relationships, their emotional makeup, their language, their temperament, their physical attributes, their ability to interact with others and how they perceive things. This day, my dad reminds me of how he gave up drinking when I was born. That attitude was instilled in me because I never cared for drinking. At one point, I was doing it to fit in. But at the start of the year, I looked within myself and I've stop drinking (except for ONLY 2 this past Saturday because it was my birthday and my best friend bought them for me). Again, the environment that an infant develops starts at home.
Again, an infant's surrounding environment can help in developing their mental, social and physical traits. As teachers, our deeper knowledge of our students will begin and end with the parent or caregiver. In addition, we must learn the dynamics of the school that we will teach in because our schools will be a reflection of the neighborhood that surrounds it. This falls back into how an environment influences one's development in life. Yet as teachers, we come from all backgrounds and it is up to us show various aspects of life to our students.
Thursday, May 29, 2014
Saturday, May 24, 2014
Week 2 - Theories of Development. Where do I fall?
In chapter 2 of LifeSmart: Exploring Human Development, some of the most prominent psychologist and psychoanalysis provided several theories involving human development. Although many of these theories never provide a concrete answer to life's development, they can provide observation to how we develop throughout many stages in our lives. As I look at my life, there are two theories I believe that we have experienced during our psychological development. These theories are the psychosocial theory and the hierarchy of needs.
Noted psychologist, Erik Erikson developed the psychosocial theory of development that emphasizes the impact of social experiences on stages of human development (LifeSmart, pg. 32). Erikson provides eight stages of human life from birth to death and each stage relates to my own development in life. For example, my dreams of teaching, coaching and mentoring teenagers is related to stage seven of Erikson's theory known as generativity versus stagnation. Although I have a quality position in banking, I have lost sight of what is more important in life and that is developing others. I've been so driven that I lost sight of teaching my own kids that I've missed opportunities to teach and spend more time with them. What is worse is that I was so concerned with trying to make ends meat is that I didn't make enough ends meat. To date, I'm still living from paycheck to paycheck. It is sad the majority of people that I've worked with or been associated with have fallen into a self-indulgent state of mind. People ages 25-65 get bored with life and they attempt any type of self-gratification to justify their meaning in life. All it leads is to selfishness and a lack of contentment in someone's life. As a man of God and a parent, I'm listening to my kids more and allowing them to see more of me as a person. By allowing them to see more of my fun side of life, they open up about their feelings and thoughts. And as they open up, I can provide knowledge and experience that will help them in their future endeavors. In teaching, I would have the ability to help other students develop in life. Also, by having a love for sports, coaching would provide a platform for instilling in students a "dare to be great" attitude.
In life, there are developmental needs every person must have in reaching their potential in the world. Humanistic psychologist, Abraham Maslow developed the hierarchy of needs model. This model provides five types of needs that each one of us need in order to reach our full potential. I can relate to this hierarchy because each need helps to develop the life God has provided for us. All of us have different needs and Maslow's model explains how these needs will allow us to fulfill our potential. Maslow's hierarchy of needs are physiological (hunger and sleep), safety (security, protection, stability, and freedom from fear and anxiety), love and belonging (need for family and friends), esteem (positive opinion of self and also by others), and self-actualization (doing all that we think we are capable of doing) (LifeSmart, pg. 45). I look at Erikson's theory of generativity versus stagnation and Maslow's self-esteem/self actualization as being similar to one another. We all want a sense of meaning in life, but as I mentioned in the previous paragraph, many self-indulge in their own desires and not the desires of others. Coming out of college, I felt like I could take on the world. I got married early, got my first job and started having kids. I thought I could handle it but over time, it got very tough to and, to date, I'm still working in a field I don't care for. I just looked at the money and the bonuses that I could obtain for my job performances. While I was looking for quick gratification, I never develop my self-actualization needs. My need is to develop young minds. But overall, my journey over the last 20 years will provide experience necessary to teach the life long lessons my children and students will need to create a better world than what we are living in today.
Again, psychosocial theory and the hierarchy of needs are two life developmental stages that can provide observation to how we grow and develop as individuals. In life, we look within ourselves for answers to what we are supposed to be. I believe that those who self-indulge in themselves is based on what the world promotes and it develops a false sense of what we should be. However, the bravest act anyone can take is developing in what you are created to be and not creating a false advertisement of who you are. And by doing that, the world will develop into the true goodness of God's work and not a false advertisement of what the world should be.
Noted psychologist, Erik Erikson developed the psychosocial theory of development that emphasizes the impact of social experiences on stages of human development (LifeSmart, pg. 32). Erikson provides eight stages of human life from birth to death and each stage relates to my own development in life. For example, my dreams of teaching, coaching and mentoring teenagers is related to stage seven of Erikson's theory known as generativity versus stagnation. Although I have a quality position in banking, I have lost sight of what is more important in life and that is developing others. I've been so driven that I lost sight of teaching my own kids that I've missed opportunities to teach and spend more time with them. What is worse is that I was so concerned with trying to make ends meat is that I didn't make enough ends meat. To date, I'm still living from paycheck to paycheck. It is sad the majority of people that I've worked with or been associated with have fallen into a self-indulgent state of mind. People ages 25-65 get bored with life and they attempt any type of self-gratification to justify their meaning in life. All it leads is to selfishness and a lack of contentment in someone's life. As a man of God and a parent, I'm listening to my kids more and allowing them to see more of me as a person. By allowing them to see more of my fun side of life, they open up about their feelings and thoughts. And as they open up, I can provide knowledge and experience that will help them in their future endeavors. In teaching, I would have the ability to help other students develop in life. Also, by having a love for sports, coaching would provide a platform for instilling in students a "dare to be great" attitude.
In life, there are developmental needs every person must have in reaching their potential in the world. Humanistic psychologist, Abraham Maslow developed the hierarchy of needs model. This model provides five types of needs that each one of us need in order to reach our full potential. I can relate to this hierarchy because each need helps to develop the life God has provided for us. All of us have different needs and Maslow's model explains how these needs will allow us to fulfill our potential. Maslow's hierarchy of needs are physiological (hunger and sleep), safety (security, protection, stability, and freedom from fear and anxiety), love and belonging (need for family and friends), esteem (positive opinion of self and also by others), and self-actualization (doing all that we think we are capable of doing) (LifeSmart, pg. 45). I look at Erikson's theory of generativity versus stagnation and Maslow's self-esteem/self actualization as being similar to one another. We all want a sense of meaning in life, but as I mentioned in the previous paragraph, many self-indulge in their own desires and not the desires of others. Coming out of college, I felt like I could take on the world. I got married early, got my first job and started having kids. I thought I could handle it but over time, it got very tough to and, to date, I'm still working in a field I don't care for. I just looked at the money and the bonuses that I could obtain for my job performances. While I was looking for quick gratification, I never develop my self-actualization needs. My need is to develop young minds. But overall, my journey over the last 20 years will provide experience necessary to teach the life long lessons my children and students will need to create a better world than what we are living in today.
Again, psychosocial theory and the hierarchy of needs are two life developmental stages that can provide observation to how we grow and develop as individuals. In life, we look within ourselves for answers to what we are supposed to be. I believe that those who self-indulge in themselves is based on what the world promotes and it develops a false sense of what we should be. However, the bravest act anyone can take is developing in what you are created to be and not creating a false advertisement of who you are. And by doing that, the world will develop into the true goodness of God's work and not a false advertisement of what the world should be.
Saturday, May 17, 2014
Week 1 - The Mobius Strip - a Wonderful Journey
After watching author Parker J. Palmer discuss how our lives travel across, what he calls the Mobius Strip, it is clear that there is a battle between the person that world wants us to be and the person who God has made us to be. People, along with myself, are attempting everyday to find out how the world can line up with the person I've been made to be. The purpose of the Mobius Strip, per the video, is to demonstrate how our inner being is the creation of the outer being. In addition, our outer being will be the guiding force of how the world will function.
Palmer describes our onstage lives with our backstage lives. What happens to many of us is that we tend to hide our inner selves because there would be ridicule from the outside world. The world attempts to dictate how we are supposed to live and the world will persecute us if we do not live according to what the world wants. One of the toughest things as a parent is when your attempting to teach your kids what not to do but you do the same thing you told your child(ren) not to do. I feel like a hypocrite when I watch a crazy reality show and your daughter watches a crazy realty show too. The video by Palmer simply describes how we are born into wholeness and integrity, yet through time, we tend to lose our souls as we grow. The Mobius Strip is an example of developing our own reality by bringing the full inner person into the world.
As I further listen to Palmer describe our backstage life and our onstage life, it is clear that we treat life like it is a stage play. We have to play a role when we go to work, school, grocery store or other places in life. What the video explains is that the Mobius Strip will help define our roles in life and not let the world or anyone else provide a role for us. One of the reasons why I want to become a teacher is I have a chance to show students the person I am and not some fake person. In my life, particularly my adult life, I have been confined to a bubble of being this quiet and reserve person that goes about his work and doesn't have any problems. In fact, most of my life, I have acted like there is never a problem. I am known to always figure things out. What I learned, especially over the last few years is that I needed as much help in finding out who I am and my true purpose in life. Teaching provides an avenue of imagination and students from kindergarten to 12 years old need imagination to create change in the world. For me, my Mobius Strip is to project a thought provoking, big kid at heart, energetic and loving person with the hard working, dedicated, determine, competitive and quiet person most have known me to be. And that would be the total package.
Palmer describes our onstage lives with our backstage lives. What happens to many of us is that we tend to hide our inner selves because there would be ridicule from the outside world. The world attempts to dictate how we are supposed to live and the world will persecute us if we do not live according to what the world wants. One of the toughest things as a parent is when your attempting to teach your kids what not to do but you do the same thing you told your child(ren) not to do. I feel like a hypocrite when I watch a crazy reality show and your daughter watches a crazy realty show too. The video by Palmer simply describes how we are born into wholeness and integrity, yet through time, we tend to lose our souls as we grow. The Mobius Strip is an example of developing our own reality by bringing the full inner person into the world.
As I further listen to Palmer describe our backstage life and our onstage life, it is clear that we treat life like it is a stage play. We have to play a role when we go to work, school, grocery store or other places in life. What the video explains is that the Mobius Strip will help define our roles in life and not let the world or anyone else provide a role for us. One of the reasons why I want to become a teacher is I have a chance to show students the person I am and not some fake person. In my life, particularly my adult life, I have been confined to a bubble of being this quiet and reserve person that goes about his work and doesn't have any problems. In fact, most of my life, I have acted like there is never a problem. I am known to always figure things out. What I learned, especially over the last few years is that I needed as much help in finding out who I am and my true purpose in life. Teaching provides an avenue of imagination and students from kindergarten to 12 years old need imagination to create change in the world. For me, my Mobius Strip is to project a thought provoking, big kid at heart, energetic and loving person with the hard working, dedicated, determine, competitive and quiet person most have known me to be. And that would be the total package.
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