A holistic approach to child development seeks to
simultaneously address the physical, emotional, relational, intellectual, and
spiritual aspects of a child’s life. Our Child Development programs incorporate
a variety of approaches to help educate and grow children into healthy,
sustainable adults ready and eager to serve the Lord (NCM).
When viewing young children holistically they should be
assessed. In fact, it is vital that children get involved in daily activities
or programs to help improve their developmental skills. Child care centers must
create a safe environment where their can learn successfully. Also, parents
must be involved in the development of their children. Because assessing a
child should begin, at an early age to recognize and make available support if
the child has a problem.
Mexican and U.S. schools are a world apart from assessing
school-age children. Schools in Mexico allow only superficial similarities to
U.S. schools. The Mexican government has control over the schools and has
different beliefs about education. Mexico has a state owned education system.
Some children are difficult to assess accurately because of
their different stages or cultural background. I believe that an assessment of
a child should be given in a familiar setting, to meet the child’s individual
needs for evaluation and possible interventions. A child's temperament and
affective state can influence cognitive ability, Vygotsky stated that
"emotions and intellect are unified in a dynamic and meaningful
system," and "emotions serve as the language of the young child,
where verbal skills are lacking." (Grieve, 1992).
References
NCM. (n.d.).
Retrieved fromhttp://ncm.org/learn/childdevelopment/approach/
vakeshat | This WordPress.com site is the cat’s pajamas. (n.d.). Retrieved from
Barbara,
ReplyDeleteYes, it is so true that young children can be hard to assess due to many reasons. How they are feeling on a particular day, language barriers, cultural barriers, and sometimes just because they are not in the mood. I like that you mentioned the importance of assessing young children in a familiar setting and of course to add to that would be to continue with ongoing observations and assessments so that we get a clearer picture of the child's understanding and skills.
Jennifer Poew`
Barbara,
ReplyDeleteI agree that children should be assessed in a familiar environment as well. I also find assessing a child during their normal active play gives ones a good idea about that child's understandings and abilities.
-Dominique