1.
Are we as I society exposing young children to
too much? i.e facebook, phones, magazines, tv programes, adult conversation etc
2.
Do you think that schools are as inclusive as
they could be? What makes them inclusive?
3.
How important do you think play is to young
children?
4.
Do you think home visits are important part for
children starting nursery/reception?
5.
A lot of children with additional needs are
being educated in ‘mainstream’ schools nowadays. What are your views on this?
6.
What are the benefits in mixing children that
are classified as ‘mainstream’ with childen who have additional needs?
7.
How important is it to construct good
relationships with parents?
8.
Do we rely on using too much technology to teach
children nowadays?
Hi Emily, I am going to try and answer your questions as honest as I can, I think you have some really good questions that could outline how the development of skills from a young age could reflect upon how we develop later in life... so here goes:
ReplyDelete1. I think that young children are exposed to too much to a certain extent. Depending on how young the children are, I think that they shouldn't be exposed to social networking sites or personally own a mobile phone, although the use of a phone at a young age could help the development of communication skills later in life (you could say the same about social networking if it is used in the correct manner). I don't think exposure to magazines and television programs are such an issue but I do feel that exposure to adult conversation can be slightly risky. Children, I feel, learn more from what they see adults/ older children do, so choosing the correct conversation around a young child should be vital, as an older generation can be seen as "role models".
2. Sorry I couldn't answer this question.
3. I think play could be extremely important to young children's development. I feel that giving them the time to express themselves/ use their imagination is also key to developing who they are as a person.
4. Sorry I couldn't answer this question.
5/6. I have decided to answer questions 5 and 6 together. I feel that children with additional needs being educated in "mainstream schools" with "mainstream" children is the way it should be. Someone with additional needs should not be secluded from someone who doesn't. A learner with additional needs could benefit from learning at the same level as someone without, as I feel children learn off each other as well as off their teachers.
7. Sorry I couldn't answer this question.
8. I feel that technology and teaching work well together. I probably feel this as I work in a department that teaches Media, so technology is crucial for the delivery as well as the learning. I think for subjects such as Maths and English, maybe technology is not as crucial and sometimes it would be good to use many other sources of learning such as reading books. Convenience wise, technology seems to be the most beneficial way to set assignments/ homework, and also publish extra information that could have been missed out in class. I guess i am on the fence about this question :P
I hope I have answered the questions to benefit your inquiry, sorry that i missed three out.
Dan :D
Hi Emily,
ReplyDeleteVery interesting questions raised in this blog. Will add my thoughts on a few of them:
1. I think that undoubtedly children do suffer from overexposure as a result of media outlets and changes in what is now socially acceptable. In some cases it is students who are maybe not so well 'informed' that suffer as a consequence. An example for me would be a couple of years ago in a primary school drama session I was holding, a girl was upset after being mocked for not knowing about something shall we say 'adult' related. So in some ways there may be an element of peer pressure that attaches itself to this problem. There are two ways in which we can look at the issue of overexposure: Can parents be doing more to monitor what is acceptable for their child? Or can we as professionals use the arts to maybe ensure that students are not misinformed as a result of the inevitable overexposure. May sound bizarre but let me know what you think.
2. Each school has its own ways of being inclusive, some are more than others, if possible try and see if there are ways to collaborate with other schools in order to share good practice on the matter.
5. I have mixed views on this topic. I think that as the range of additional needs is so widespread that it can only be positive as in an ever changing society students who suffer with particular needs should be integrated alongside others of their own age. It can also bring out the best in the other students, ie how they are able to motivate or help students take part in a range of activities. It is one of the most rewarding aspects of working in education. I do however adopt a degree of cynicism towards schools who look to bring students into mainstream education without being equipped to provide the appropriate support for these students. It is worth noting that a student who is 'statemented' can provide additional funding for a school. I don't think it is uncommon for schools to enroll these students due to this incentive. Not all students with 'additional' needs will fail to cope but schools have a responsibility to ensure that students will ultimately leave school with as much as possible. This may mean that the national curriculum isn't necessarily the most useful tool in a student's development.
6. Sort of touched on this previously, the inclusion element. Ensuring that other students are aware and tolerant of the needs of others. Also, there are schools with excellent provision in place for students who have additional needs. If these provisions are in place then we should facilitate the needs of these students.
7. Extremely. If parents are on board from an early age then this will allow communication to be far more effective between the school and parent ultimately leading to the best possible outcomes for the student. In cases where a parent is not co-operative it can tie the hands of those looking to support the student.
8. I think that as technology evolves, it is not always a bad idea to incorporate this into our teaching as ultimately technology is an inevitable part of our future, like it or not. I'm personally not too keen on an over reliance of technology as I feel this can alienate a key basic component of learning; face to face communication. Particularly within the arts an interaction with others is key to our growth and understanding of our craft. Technology may help establish basic skills and how we apply them (video tutorials etc) but as an artist I feel that technology may not help an artist establish a personal connection with what they are doing. I could be completely wrong (and probably am!)
Let me know what you think. Excellent questions, certainly gave me a lot to think about.
Take Care
John
hi Emily here is my opininon on afew of your questions I look forward to reading other peoples and seeing how you develop these.
ReplyDeleteAre we as I society exposing young children to too much? i.e facebook, phones, magazines, tv programs, adult conversation etc
With the internet being so fast and easy to access now I thing we are exposing children to too much with social media being such a big thing at the moment so many children are granted access to this and the internet is so much harder to filter than tv shows ect.
How important do you think play is to young children?
I think play is very important at a young age as it begins to build social skills for children in a relaxed environment. They learn confidence and sharing skills ect and it keeps there mind active and learning without being in a restricted environment.
How important is it to construct good relationships with parents?
As a dance teacher myself I think it is very beneficial to maintain and construct a good relationship with parents as it is all about working together. If the parents know what you are trying to achieve in class or why you are teaching a certain way they can help you to achieve a positive outcome.
Do we rely on using too much technology to teach children nowadays?
I think technology is used a lot now days but I don’t think it can necessarily be a bad thing as the world is moving on and developing new things all the time so I feel education should flow along side this, again though I do feel it needs to be balanced with the correct interactions with the teacher expressing there views and giving there opinions ect so the technology works along side the teacher not the other way round.
thanks for your questions steph x
thank you all so much for your responces to these questions that i ask myself on a daily basis. its interesting for me to see how people working in different environments have different views on things. i have been lucky enough to get lots of responces from the questioaire i gave out. so together i will look at everyones responces and continue to develop questions that can relate and get responce from.
ReplyDeleteemily