Module 1

What is psychology? Psychology is the study of behavior in living things. The people that study this are called psychologists. Here in the readings I have learned that everyone develops in their own way. We do have stages that we pass through as we get older but still people might develop either slower of faster than others.

In first chapter (pgs. 8 and 9) one of the concepts I liked reading about what is good teaching? Having read about the different teachers and the different ways they had dealt with students in order to make the learning process easier for the students inspires me. When students are struggling in school they don’t want to go. They might start to act up, become class clowns, or even bullies so that people would look at them in that light instead of looking at them as not understanding  the work they are being taught or given as homework. Having a teacher that comes to you and works with you to see if they can find out what the reason is that you are not learning the lesson and then finds the best solution for you and helps you learn makes you want to learn. Like when I was in 1^st grade and my teacher started to punish me for mispronouncing words made me hate her and hate school. I cried every morning to my mother and begged her to keep me at home because I did not want to go and see my 1^st grade teacher. She made me feel I was worthless so reading in the text how teachers did their all to help the students in need made me want to become an educator even more. Also, recognizing the students that are exceeding in class is something we need to do because if all we do is notice the students that struggle and forget about the ones that are understanding the material can harm them too. Smart children always need to be challenged as well (p.10).

In the second chapter, the concept that I enjoyed reading was on (pgs.38-39). The Brain and learning to read was interesting to me because we really forget how it was or how hard t was learning to read. For some it comes naturally where other struggle and that is when it can get tricky. Some students slip through the cracks for many different reasons but they find ways to hide the fact that they are unable to read. Looking at what look like just lines on a page can be a scary thing for children. Our brain can usually recognize words. Sounds, and symbols that we had come across before but for some people the brain does not always do that and it makes it harder for students to learn to read. As an educator we must learn to recognize who is struggling and who is not early because then and only then can we help them before the get discouraged and shut down and not want to learn.

In the third chapter the concept that I enjoyed reading most was about Erikson’s of psychosocial development (pg.87-92). Erikson’s theory of development considers the impact of parents and society on personality development from childhood to adulthood. Erikson believed that every person had to pass through a series of eight stages over the time of their life. If we didn’t accomplish each stage Erikson believed that we may lack the positive characteristics in that stage. I agree and disagree with some of his findings because some just need a little longer than others to fully develop. The fourth stage takes place during the ages of 6-12. This stage is very crucial because children learning to read and write can have a big impact on them. Here children have the knowledge to help them learn, create and achieve multiple skills. During this stage children learn to experience a social life with their peers. The parents are not as important to some children because they found a friend that they can confide in. Children can develop low self-esteem here too if they are unable to find themselves fitting in with their peers. It is here that the children feel like they have to prove themselves by doing things to show the other children that they know how to do specific tasks, but if parents or teachers don’t approve and try to stop the children it might affect them and their abilities. We all need a little failure in our lives because at the same time it teaches us to keep trying and not accept failure.

I feel like I am able to handle most situations more after reading and with the experiences that I have working in a school district where we have many English Learners. This gives me the chance to learn to be extra patient and not judge them if they make mistakes. I have also learned that many children just need a little bit more time than others before they pick up on things. Sometimes educators rush to say the child has some kind of disability when in reality they are taking longer in the silent stage. Two years ago we had a 3^rd grade teacher say a child was not learning and something had to be wrong with him. It took him a year and half before he opened up and started speaking and when he did he was learning and understanding much of the work given to him now he is in sixth grade and tested out of ESL/ELL services and is in regular classes. The 3^rd grade teacher felt he was unteachable and she was dead wrong. Educators must be patient before jumping to conclusions. Imagine yourself moving to a new country where no one spoke your language, how would you feel? What would you do? Would learning the new language be easy for you?

This chapter had a lot of great information on how children are developing. I have a better understanding of how I can deal with them or a situation I might be in. I hope to be a role model to my students and they feel comfortable coming to me with any questions or problem that might be bothering them.