At the beginning of this course, I had the opportunity to briefly learn about the historical roots of the study of child development. I found this information fascinating so I decided to include it in my portfolio as a series of interesting facts. My main source for this information was the book Exploring Child Development: Second Edition, by Richard Fabes and Carol Lynn Martin. It is a great resource for any teacher's classroom.
"In ancient Greece and Rome, children were viewed as helpless and incapable of caring for themselves. There was a heavy emphasis on discipline because of the belief that they were lacking in self control. Children were also viewed as susceptible to corruption."
"During Medieval times, children were considered miniature adults. As soon as a child was 6 or 7, he or she belonged to adult society and could work like adults, dress like adults, and could even marry legally, be crowned, or be hanged like adults."
“During the Renaissance and Reformation, a more open-minded view of children came about. During this time, it began to be recognized that children had special needs that are different from those of adults. John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau proposed an idea that finally began to be recognized: early development sets the stage for adulthood.”
"In more recent history, Charles Darwin radically changed the way science viewed child development.
"Most recently, G. Stanley Hall initiated the application of scientific procedures to the study of child development. He was the first scientist to focus attention on the adolescent years and he was one of the first to write a developmental textbook."
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