My paper below discusses the development of children I observed during my service learning at Madison Elementary.  In this course, I have gained knowledge of new vocabulary that I make reference to during my reflection.  I hope you see how I have noticed the importance of children developing as they embark on their journey in life.

I Can Make a Difference

“The quest for excellence is a lifelong process.”  This anonymous quotation wonderfully describes my journey to becoming a teacher because it will never be complete.  There is always more that I can learn about myself, my students, and the field of education.  In my child development class, I have learned more about how children develop from birth until adolescence.  At Madison Elementary, I had the privilege to participate in a third grade classroom for my service learning.  Besides observing and working with the children, it was thrilling to see how the eight-year-old students in the class were developing in all four developmental domains: cognitive, social, emotional, and physical. 

The children were learning varying cognitive skills, such as memory, vocabulary, reasoning, and imagining.  It was great seeing the teacher employ all three learning techniques, discovery, generative, and cooperative to aid these children in developing those skills.  I know that using different methods helps children because each one has specific strengths and weaknesses, and often one hemisphere of the brain is stronger than the other. 

The social domain of the children was exciting to watch.  There was a girl in the class who was from Mexico, and knew little English, however, the children all made her feel welcome.  There was no discrimination or prejudices from any one for any reason.  I think it is important for children to be aware of differences that exist, and I know that my service learning teacher did a great job of making this happen.  At one time, the girl completed a challenging math problem on the white board.  The entire class immediately yelled, “Mucho bueno!”  This showed me that the teacher was taking time to teach the other children Spanish, so they could communicate with the new student. 

The emotional development of the children was strongly observed.  I noticed that the teacher constantly praised the children and always displayed their artwork around the room.  I believe this gives children self-confidence in themselves.  Positive reinforcement is important because it increases a child’s self esteem and makes the same behavior likely to reoccur.  I learned from my mentor teacher that she is in constant communication with children’s parents.  She wants the child receiving praise at home, so she lets the parents know of their child’s progress and growing skills and talents.  Another example of emotional development I noticed was the amount of respect everyone in the classroom displayed for one another.  I was surprised by the patience and manners of the children as well.  On one occasion, when I picked up a pencil a little boy dropped by his desk, he told me “thank-you.”  I started to walk away, but he said, “Excuse me, but you forgot to say you're welcome.”  I was stunned that I forgot such a simple phrase.  This eight-year-old boy taught me a lesson, when I thought I was supposed to be there teaching him.  I will never forget the moment that my experience at Madison turned from serving to learning.

The physical development of the children was entertaining to view.  I noticed at various times the children had to cut up papers with scissors.  They were struggling with this fine motor skill.  None seemed to have problems with writing or coloring, but just holding that object.  It was also interesting to see that my mentor teacher did not see the importance of recess, where a child could develop stronger gross motor skills.  She would keep a child in from recess if they needed to make up work, or if they were being punished.  I think it is important to find other methods of discipline because recess allows children to relieve stress, and developing a physical routine now will make children less likely to become inactive adults.  I noticed that her classroom activities did not require much movement either.  Since movement and thinking are processed in the same area of the brain, I feel it is important to actively have children involved in classroom activities to improve their performance and attention span.