Preparing for Individualism

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Our Image of the Child

Learning Objectives

After reading this chapter, you should be able to:

1. Explain how the image of the child has changed over time.

2. Describe American children today in the context of changing national demographics and expectations.

3. Identify important factors that influence how teachers view children today.

4. Describe strategies teachers can use to learn about the children they teach and to foster the development of a positive self-image.

3 Pretest 1. Before the middle of the eighteenth century,

the concept of childhood as a distinct period of life did not exist. T/F

2. By the age of 3, children have a well- developed gender identity. T/F

3. Changing demographics affect the curriculum decisions teachers make T/F

4. It is important to test children to determine whether they are ready for kindergarten or first grade. T/F

5. Preschool children are too young to learn independence and responsibility. T/F

Answers can be found at end of the chapter.

Where Do Our Views of Children Originate? Chapter 3

Your first day with your preschool children is rapidly approaching. You obtain a roster of the seventeen children you will be teaching and begin to think about how you will welcome them to the class and get to know each one. Your list indicates that there are nine boys and eight girls. Of the four Hispanic children, two speak Spanish as their first language. Two children are African American, nine are Caucasian, and one is Asian. You also know that two of the children have been identified as having special needs. What do you imagine the children will be like? What kind of life experiences will they bring to your class? How will the actual children compare with your ideas about what they might be like?

Research reveals that teachers’ images of the child can be a more powerful influence on the way they teach than what they have learned in the way of theories and strategies (Hill, Stremmel, & Fu, 2005). For example, consider the statement, “The core value I hold is that children are competent, confident, curious theory builders” (Chaille, 2008, p. 3). The author continues to say, “ this value is the essence of constructivism,” indicating that her idea about what children are like informs her acceptance of a theory closely aligned with that view. In other words, we need to understand that our perceptions about what we think children are like can affect our expectations and interactions with them and how we choose and imple- ment curriculum.

3.1 Where Do Our Views of Children Originate? Our ideas about childhood and what it means to be a child today have changed over time and will continue to be shaped by many factors. Examining how our view of children in America has evolved can help us understand the things that influence the way we see them today and what might happen in the future. Historically, events such as western migration across the frontier, massive waves of immigration into American cities, and wars have affected fam- ily dynamics and, correspondingly, the lives and roles of children. Societal change, such as women’s suffrage and the feminist movement of the 1960s, has produced changes in percep- tions about gender roles. Scientific and social science research has also contributed to our understanding of the biology and psychology of human growth and development and how children learn. This section addresses how our image of the child is informed and shaped by history, society, and science.

History

We can tell a great deal about how the image of the child has changed over time by looking at pictures and paintings of children from different periods. What, for example, do you notice about the children depicted in the paintings in Figure 3.1? Can you tell anything about their economic or class status from the way children are dressed? Do you see signs of their assigned gender roles? From the activities represented, can you infer how children were expected to behave? How do they appear to interact with adults or other children? Do you see any evi- dence of cultural stereotypes or historical prejudices? Some of your thoughts may be reflected in the following descriptions of three predominant historical views—children as miniature adults, conflicting views of innocence, and children as the property of others.

Children as Miniature Adults Until the mid-eighteenth-century Enlightenment period, childhood as the distinct period we know today did not exist. Rather, children were considered miniature adults. They wore the same style of clothing as adults (Figure 3.1a) and, like adults, their clothes reflected their social

Where Do Our Views of Children Originate? Chapter 3

or economic class. They were expected to behave and carry themselves as any other person, and expectations for their behavior were not modified simply because they were children (Hill, Stremmel, & Fu, 2005; Morrison, 2011). From a very young age, children in wealthy, landed families were groomed and educated by tutors to assume the social, financial, and politi- cal roles of their parents. Children of peasants, farmers, and tradesmen, meanwhile, were expected to shoulder an equal burden of work as soon as they possibly could to ensure the survival of the family. After the Enlightenment, childhood gradually began to be seen as a period of immaturity, with expectations for children adjusted accordingly.

Figure 3.1: Historical Images of Children

The way societies view children is often reflected in artwork from the period. As you may notice in these four paintings the small boy (a) is represented as a miniature adult, the group of boys (b) are depicted as ruffians, and the girls are painted from idealized (c) and realistic (d) perspectives.

(b)

Where Do Our Views of Children Originate? Chapter 3

Has the belief that children are miniature adults resur- faced? Some advocates for young children insist that since the advent of television in the mid-1950s, children are once again experiencing pressures and incentives to behave, dress, and act like adults (Elkind, 2001; Postman, 1992). Adult-inspired clothing, beauty pageants, and access to adult-themed television, advertising, movies, music, entertainment, and even the concept of “play dates” are common examples that blur the lines between children and adults.

However, this is different from children wanting to “act like” the adults they see in their lives. In preschool class- rooms, children will commonly and naturally use “dress up” clothing to assume and dramatize what they know about adult roles, like firefighter, doctor, chef, and so on. Given societal pressures on children, early childhood teachers have a responsibility to balance opportunities for young children and to explore their ideas about adulthood without pressuring them to be like adults. Our expecta- tions for behavior and achievement must be grounded in appropriate expectations based on what we know about how young children think and act rather than on stan- dards for adults.

Childhood and Conflicting Ideas about Innocence By the mid-eighteenth century, philosophers such as John Locke (1632–1704), Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1712–1778), and Johann Friedrich Pestalozzi (1746–1827) had introduced a new, romanticized vision of childhood as a period of natural innocence (Figure 3.1c). Painters and book illustrators of the nineteenth-century Victorian period often depicted children in rural or domestic scenes whiling away their time in pastoral pursuits. This view conflicted with notions held over from the Middle Ages, of children as sinful, deceitful, and even depraved (Morrison, 2011).

A changing concept of the nature of children affected schooling and curriculum. Early American education, especially for poor children, was primarily limited to religious instruction focused on curbing “sinful” behavior (Boers, 2007). As Americans were increasingly influenced by a more humanistic view of children, curricula became more secular and child-centered, as evidenced, for example, in the emergence of the playground in the late 1800s and the evolu- tion of the famous McGuffey Readers. These simple textbooks were introduced in 1836 as a series of graded readers that made ample use of biblical text and references as a means of both reading instruction and moral education. For example, a passage from the 1836 second reader states: “Never forget before you leave your room to thank God for his kindness. He is indeed kinder to us than an earthly parent” (p. 3). Only 3 of the 32 story titles in the 1836 version included the name of a child, compared with 15 of 71 in the 1879 revision.

By the 1870s, in response to an increasingly pluralistic society, the emphasis on purity and obedience had shifted to more of a focus on patriotism and civic responsibility, as this passage from the 1879 primer demonstrates: “This house is on fire. Look! The roof is in a blaze. Run, boys, and ring the bell. Call some men to put out the fire. We may yet save the house if we

It is controversial but not unusual to see children today depicted in adult roles.

Where Do Our Views of Children Originate? Chapter 3

work hard” (p. 40). The older notion of schools as a place where children must be controlled and tamed had given way to seeing young children as unique individuals and to considering certain pursuits, such as play, as part of the domain of childhood.

Beliefs about the innate nature of children play out in the way adults interpret children’s moti- vations and the choices they subsequently make about curriculum and classroom manage- ment (File & Gullo, 2000; Scarlett, Ponte, & Singh, 2009). Suppose that a 3-year-old turns all the puzzles on a shelf upside down, dumping all the pieces on the floor. In the past, a teacher who viewed children as innately mischievous or motivated to misbehave might reprimand the child, saying, “I knew that was bound to happen one of these days.” She might ban him for a time from the puzzle center and make him sit on a bench during outside time as punish- ment. Today, we are more likely, because of the influence of developmental research, to see children as “works in progress” and recognize this episode as an opportunity to introduce natural consequences and promote self-modification of the child’s behaviors. Now a teacher might explain that since all the puzzle pieces are mixed up on the floor, no one can use them. She could tell the child that she will be happy to help, but that until the puzzles are put back together, he may not play with other toys.

Children as Property Before the late nineteenth century, white American chil- dren were largely considered the property of their fathers. Black American children were often born into slavery and, along with their families, were literally and legally considered the property of their masters. Up through the Colonial Period, poor 8- to 12-year-old children were commonly sold as indentured servants, and all slaves, including children, could be bought and sold at will up until the 1860s. While most slave children were likely to live and die enslaved, indentured servants might work off the cost of their upkeep and complete an apprentice- ship lasting as many as 7 to 10 years. After the Industrial Revolution and the rise of the factory, children as young as 6 years of age were sent to work to help provide for their families.

Slavery was abolished with the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, but the use of young children to work long hours under harsh conditions did not end until the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 prohibited child labor.

Today, Americans typically no longer think of children as the property of their parents, though parents gen- erally do enjoy broad latitude and full authority over their children provided they are not found to be abu- sive (Morrison, 2011). However, the related practice of describing children as commodities—products of schooling or investment in the future—is common (Morrison, 2011). Costs associated with educating young children are periodically quantified in terms of cost-benefit ratios and return on investment (Partnerships for America’s Economic Success, 2011). While this may be understandable, given the need to allocate pub- lic and private resources wisely, early childhood professionals advocate making curriculum

Until 1938, American children routinely worked in factories, fields, and domestic service. This photo from 1911 shows three young girls who worked as oyster shuck- ers for the Maggioni Canning Company in Port Royal, South Carolina.

Where Do Our Views of Children Originate? Chapter 3

decisions from developmental and individual perspectives. Fortunately research increasingly demonstrates the long-term economic value of high-quality early childhood education!

Teachers may subtly convey a proprietary relationship with their students when they use expressions like “my children” or “my class.” Moreover, different curricula allocate varying levels of ownership to teachers and children respectively, and a curriculum that is wholly “owned” by the teacher is very different from one that emphasizes child-initiated activities (Chaille, 2008; Copple & Bredekamp, 2009). As you learn more about the curriculum choices available to you, think about the extent to which you will actively and intentionally balance opportunities for decision making between yourself and the children in your charge.

Society

Today, most experts agree that the concepts and images associated with young children are socially constructed according to cultural values and norms (Arnold, 2000; Heywood, 2001; Hill, Stremmel, & Fu, 2005). Increasing globalization provides American educators with access to competing points of view that challenge embedded notions about what education for young children should be like. These divergent perspectives are discussed in this section in terms of competency versus dependency, risk versus promise, labeling, and gender roles.

Competency vs. Dependency American teachers’ beliefs and curricula were traditionally built around the idea that young children depend on adults to know what is best for them (Hill, Stremmel, & Fu, 2005). Certainly the younger the child, the more adults need to be directly involved in his or her physical care for the sake of the child’s safety and well-being. But the extent to which children throughout the early childhood period are encouraged and allowed to direct their own learning and make intuitive decisions is changing. In particular, educators in the Reggio Emilia infant-toddler and preschool programs subscribe to a view of children as innately competent, strong, and power- ful (Edwards, Gandini, & Forman, 1998).

This alternate image of children focuses on what children can do rather than what they can’t. Adults are challenged to see children as having not needs but rights. Rather than focusing on what adults think children need, teacher educators are encouraged to focus on who they are as individuals, casting them as stakeholders in their own learning (Chaille, 2008). Going forward, you will see how this idea plays out to greater or lesser extent in planning and imple- menting curriculum.

At Risk vs. At Promise In American society, the vision of children as the promise of our future is a cherished ideal. But the language used to describe efforts to provide equal opportunities for all children and a solid foundation for success is changing. Closely related to the dialogue about competency vs. dependency was criticism of what many believed was a “deficit” approach to early child- hood (Harry & Klingner, 2007; Swadener & Lubeck, 1995). This controversy emerged with the authorization of federally funded early childhood initiatives, including Head Start in the 1960s. The premise of this view is that certain children—mostly dual-language learners and those from low-income minority groups, begin their educational careers at a disadvantage. The perception about these children was that they lacked access to the resources necessary to be successful in school and life and were thus at risk for failure.

Where Do Our Views of Children Originate? Chapter 3

Critics of the practice of describing children “at risk” contended this perspective was grounded in an assumption that children must conform to a prescribed set of expectations largely driven by mainstream culture rather than the needs and cultural experiences of each child. When children did not live up to these expectations, they were considered deficient (Delpit, 2006; Hyun, 1996). These critics assert that all children should be considered “at promise,” that is, viewed in consideration of their potential (Brice-Heath, 1991; Swadener & Lubeck, 1995).

Further, advocates against a deficit mindset called for understanding that poor minority chil- dren arrive at school with different rather than deficient experiences, language, and culture. For example, in terms of literacy, anthropologist Shirley Brice-Heath’s seminal research in the 1980s revealed that African American children often come from homes where oral language and storytelling are highly valued and practiced (Brice-Heath, 1991). But in an education setting that places a higher value on reading and writing, this strength was not recognized. Similarly, children learning English as a second language were at that time considered at risk. However, neuroscience now confirms that rather than being linguistically impaired, bilingual preschoolers can concentrate and retain information better than children who speak only one language (Carlson & Meltzoff, 2008).

Over the past three decades, educators and curriculum developers have worked hard to advance curriculum for young children that includes and values multiculturalism, diverse language traditions, and social experiences that children bring to their care or school setting.

Labeling Like 1960s funding for early intervention programs, the laws that mandated special education services (beginning with the Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975) were also inspired by the desire to create equal opportunities and services for all children.

However, labels like at risk, disabled, gifted, hearing-impaired, hyperactive, and autistic, which are applied to children for purposes of funding service programs, had the unin- tended consequence of creating stereotypes. Particularly because minorities are overrep- resented in special education programs that focus on disabilities and underrepresented in gifted and talented programs, questions about cultural discrimination and testing/iden- tification biases also emerged. Parents and advocates for children in special education programs claimed that applying a label as their children’s defining characteristic interfered with recognition of their children’s many positive characteristics, unrelated to the label. As a result, “person-first language” emerged (Research and Training Center on Independent Living, 2008). The examples in Table 3.1 illustrate the subtle but powerful difference that labeling conveys.

Table 3.1: Applying Labels to Children

Label as the Whole Child Person-First Language

Susie is autistic. Susie has autism.

Susie is hearing-impaired. Susie has a hearing impairment.

Susie is learning-disabled. Susie has a learning disability.

Where Do Our Views of Children Originate? Chapter 3

As you begin your teaching journey, it will be important for you to approach the curriculum you use with respect to all the children you will teach. You will want to try to view the qualities and experiences they bring to the classroom or child care setting as strengths and opportuni- ties. The curriculum is your starting place—a means to advance their strengths rather than focusing on their shortcomings.

Gender Roles A third important socially constructed concept is our image of gender roles (Kohlberg, 1966) and the ways boys and girls are represented in media, curricula, and instructional materials. This is important because gender identification and roles are acquired during the early child- hood years.

The fact that each child is unique and complex should not blind us to the fact that gender is one of the two great organizing principles in child development—the other being age. Trying to understand a child without understanding the role of gender in child development is like trying to understand a child’s behavior without knowing the child’s age. (Sax, 2005, p. 95)

Teachers and child care providers have a great deal of influence on how this process occurs (Chick, Heilman-Houser, & Hunter, 2002), especially in terms of expectations associated with femininity and masculinity (Gropper & Froschl, 2000).

Children’s construction of gender identity is closely associated with prevailing stereotypes and power dynamics and the extent to which those are accepted or challenged by adults (Blaise & Taylor, 2012). Generally accepted notions of what boys and girls are like and who takes a dominant or submissive role in play can be dictated by assumptions children make that may or may not be true. For example, if some children are planning for a pretend hiking trip to the mountains, one child might state that only the boys can drive the car, or that the

girls must be in charge of making lunches and packing food for the trip. If no one questions these statements, stereotypes are implicitly reinforced. But play can pro- vide opportunities for the construction of alternate “definitions” of what boys and girls can do if and when adults (1) challenge stereotypes and serve as mod- els in talking about gender roles and (2) prohibit the marginalization of any child based on gender role identification (Blaise & Taylor, 2012; Katch & Katch, 2007).

Typically between the ages of 3 and 5, children associate with a gender identity as “boy” or “girl” and the concept that boys are supposed to do “boy things,” and girls are supposed to do “girl things,” but they may not necessarily know that

gender is also constant and not subject to change. Therefore it isn’t unusual for preschool children to appear excessively rigid in their expression of roles that boys and girls may play (Katch & Katch, 2010; Ruble, Taylor, Cyphers, Greulich, Lurye, & Shrout, 2007). Once they also understand that wearing pink shiny slippers will not cause a boy to turn into a girl, they

Between 3 and 5 years of age, until they learn that their gender is both fixed and constant, children commonly define gender roles rigidly.

Where Do Our Views of Children Originate? Chapter 3

become more open to discussion and the assumption of gender roles that may contradict a stereotype.

Teachers and caregivers can take a number of steps to help children develop healthy concepts of gender; these measures will also help to combat stereotypes that can be damaging to a child’s self-esteem or lead to bullying behaviors (Blaise & Taylor, 2012; Chick, Heilman-Houser & Hunter, 2002; Gropper & Froschl, 2000; Moss, 2007).

These steps include:

• Talking directly with children about stereotypes

• Looking for and eliminating gender bias in classroom materials

• Using gender-neutral language

• Emphasizing fairness in discussing gender roles and stereotypes

• Acknowledging and dealing with bullying behavior associated with gender stereotypes

Science

Today, science is producing a continually expanding body of knowledge—from biological, psychological, and sociological perspectives—about who children are. This knowledge is helpful to teachers in many ways. Research on the interplay of biology (nature) and environ- ment (nurture) and how children develop and establish identity helps teachers (1) approach their teaching from an unbiased perspective and (2) support the development of a healthy self-image among their children.

The consensus is that neither nature nor nurture is solely responsible for a child’s development but that both are significant and interrelated in complex ways (Cherry, 2018; Maynard & Nigel, 2004; Schiller, 2001; Silcock, 2008). Bronfenbrenner (2004) concluded, after decades of work on his theoretical model of interactive eco- logical systems, that developmental pro- cesses are profoundly affected by events and conditions in the larger environment.

What teachers need to know is that the environments they create and the curri- cula they implement will affect children in ways that may not be obvious but are important both for the way we see chil- dren and the ways they perceive them- selves. Furthermore, while earlier images of children were romanticized and generalized to an idealized version of the child, an ecological perspective seeks to acknowledge the “real” child (Gardiner & Kosmitzki, 2005).

Our image of the American child today is kaleidoscopic—a wonderful montage of shapes, colors, personalities, interests, and abilities. In the next section, we will examine our image of today’s child and, in particular, the important role teachers play in choosing and adapting curricula that support positive and authentic images of children.

Today’s early childhood programs and our images of chil- dren are increasingly diverse.

Who Is the American Child Today? Chapter 3

3.2 Who Is the American Child Today? The historical image of the child as white, middle-class, and from a nuclear family does not represent the American population at large today (Kids Count, 2011). This is especially impor- tant because white female teachers continue to be overrepresented as compared with the changing populations of the classrooms in which they teach (Frankenberg, 2009; Han, West- Olatunji, & Thomas, 2010; Loewus, 2017). Consequently many children come to care or pre- school without the opportunity to interact with adults who look like them and perhaps share common experiential knowledge about culture, language, and sociocultural traditions.

Children in Context

Demographic data about young children and their families are continually collected, analyzed, and reported by many different groups, agencies, and individuals for a variety of purposes, including:

• Federal, state, and international funding for programs that support families and children

• The development of goals, standards, and accountability measures for programs, schools, and services

• Continual development and improvement of teacher education programs to best pre- pare teachers and caregivers to work in the “real world”

Statistical profiles that describe groups by income, ethnicity, religion, family structure, and so on provide early childhood professionals with a clear picture of the characteristics of children and their families. The imaginary class presented in the opening vignette closely parallels the demographic statistics of the nation as a whole. While it is unlikely that a class you teach will mirror this breakdown exactly, it is important for you as a teacher to represent the rich diversity of both the children and families in your class and the country as a whole in respectful ways.

Demographics Data from the U.S. census, which is taken every ten years, provide comprehensive information about ethnicity, economic status, and other individual and family characteristics of the U.S. population. Table 3.2 offers a snapshot of the statistics that describe children under the age of 18 in America today.

In 2011, the overall percentage of children living with two married parents was 65 percent, a figure that decreased from 85 percent in 1970 but that has been relatively stable since the late 1990s.

What do these statistics have to do with your role as a curriculum decision maker? Critics have claimed that many curriculum materials, learning standards, and assessment materials (espe- cially standardized tests) are representative of ethnocentrism (Hull, Goldhaber & Capone, 2002; Manning & Baruth, 2000). This means they are written and designed from a white American mainstream cultural perspective that doesn’t represent the population or actual lives of many people. Curriculum developers and government recognize the need to represent all children accurately. The latest reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) identified three priorities:

• Rigorous and fair accountability

Who Is the American Child Today? Chapter 3

• Meeting diverse learner needs

• Greater equity to provide equal opportunities for student success (U.S. Department of Education, 2010)

The ESEA emphasizes the need to improve education to be more inclusive of children with disabilities, second language learners, migrant and homeless children, native and rural popu- lations, and those who are neglected or delinquent.

Diversity and Cultural Relativism Despite a long-standing effort in teacher education programs to help prospective teachers develop cultural sensitivity to the children they will teach, misunderstandings and inaccu- rate assumptions about children and their families remain a challenge (Han, West-Olatunji, & Thomas, 2010). Teachers can become more culturally sensitive by reflecting on and identifying the ways in which their own racial identities affect their beliefs and practices (Lee & Dalmon, 2008). Essentially, this means that you think about your own experiences and attitudes in relation to those of others whose ethnicity, culture, and traditions are different from what is familiar to you. You can develop empathy with your students and families and incorporate their perspectives into your curriculum by:

• Encouraging the children to share stories about their personal experiences (Lake, 2010) and sharing your own stories with them

• Modeling and affirming respect for differences (Manning & Baruth, 2000)

• Incorporating activities that reflect the home culture and language of the children you teach (Hull, Goldhaber & Capone, 2002)

• Creating and developing reciprocal relationships with families (Hull, Goldhaber, & Capone, 2002)

Table 3.2: American Children under the Age of 18

Percent of Children

Under Age 18 (total number 74.1 million)

Ethnicity: Percent of First-

and Second- Generation Immigrant Children

(total number 17.3 million)

Percent of Children Living in

Poverty (total percent of population

22%)

Percent of Children Living

with Two Married Parents

White 56 17.5 13 71

Black 15 8.6 38 33

Hispanic 22 51.0 32 60

Asian/Pacific Islander

4 22.6 14 85

American or Alaskan Native American

Less than 1 Less than 1 35 No data

All other races 4 No data No data No data

Note: The next U.S. Census will occur in 2020. Visit the following website for more information: https://www.census.gov/2020census. Source: U.S. 2010 Census Data.

https://www.census.gov/2020census

Who Is the American Child Today? Chapter 3

Expectations for Children

Demographic statistics can certainly provide a general image of American children, especially if you look beyond national reporting to your state or local level (see www.KidsCount.org). Teachers know, however, that certain policies and conditions also affect the ways in which children are described and how they, in turn, experience curriculum. In early childhood, three things that affect how children are viewed are the concept of school readiness, learning stan- dards, and the achievement gap.

Readiness and Developmentally Appropriate Practice One way in which children are described is in terms of readiness, most notably kindergarten readiness, but also at any age level or in other terms whereby children may be excluded from an age/class group based on a judgment that they do not have the prerequisite knowledge or skills to meet expecta- tions. Readiness means that a child has mastered certain skills and dispositions towards learning in order to be considered “typical” and eligible for entry. Readiness criteria can be anything from being toilet-trained and thus ready for entry to a 3-year-old class to being able to sit still and pay attention for a specified period of time for kindergarten. Currently at least thirty-four states continue to require testing for entry to kindergarten (Education Commission of the States, 2018).

Long-term research findings show, however, that readiness tests in terms of predictive value are largely unreliable (Ackerman & Barnett, 2005). Hence the image of children as “ready” or “not ready” has been a big issue in early childhood edu- cation. The National Association for the Education of Young Children asserts that the schools or pro- grams and the curriculum in use should be “ready” and responsive to children rather than the other way

around (NAEYC, 1995). One of the primary features of all the major early childhood curricu- lum approaches and models previewed in Chapter 2 is an image of the child that isn’t depen- dent on externally imposed readiness criteria.

Learning Standards Closely related to readiness is increasing use of early learning standards and explicit expecta- tions about what a child should know and be able to do at a particular point in time. Because of the developmental orientation of early childhood as a field, advocates work with states to ensure that expectations are framed to accommodate individual variations among children. Otherwise the image of a “typical” child might be defined too narrowly.

Standards are used not only to describe what children should learn but also to guide the development of state-by-state standardized tests used to assess the effectiveness of teach- ers and curriculum. Curriculum developers refer to standards in order to design content

Classrooms should contain materials and offer experiences that reflect the diversity of the class and provide them with opportunities to learn about the many ways in which Americans are diverse.

http://www.KidsCount.org

http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PSREADY98.PDF

Who Is the American Child Today? Chapter 3

and activities that align with their stated expectations. You will see in later chapters how teachers use standards to plan and evaluate curriculum activities with individual children in mind.

As explained in Chapter 1, the language of standards expresses both broad outcomes and more detailed descriptions of expectations. However, early educators take care not to inter- pret standards as suggesting an ideal image of what a child should be like but rather try to use them to support the learning of each child as a unique individual. As you look at the examples in Table 3.3, which contains sample statements from the Infant/Toddler Guidelines and Early Learning Standards for 3–5 Year Olds, used in South Carolina, you can see that the language can be interpreted broadly and inclusively.

Table 3.3: Sampling of Infant/Toddler and 3- to 5-Year-Old Early Learning Standards for Language Development

Standard Detail (Subcriteria)

Infants: 6 to 18 months

Understanding language:

The child will comprehend the message of another’s communication

In the beginning of this period, I recognize the names of familiar objects and people. By the end of this period, I show understanding of an adult’s simple requests and of state- ments referring to the present situation.

Toddlers: 16 to 36 months

In the beginning of this period, I show understanding of adults’ simple requests and of statements referring to the present situation. By the end of this period, I understand my caregiver’s more abstract and complex statements and requests that refer to positions in space, ideas, feelings, and the future.

3-Year-Olds

The child will begin to read and comprehend a variety of literary texts in print and nonprint formats.

I explore realistic books and materials in classroom centers.

I listen to simple stories, songs and rhymes.

4-Year-Olds I show interest in informational texts about familiar objects.

I make relevant comments or appropriate responses to story events or characters.

5-Year-Olds I summarize the main idea and details from literacy texts read aloud.

I use pictures and words to make predictions regarding a story read aloud.

Source: South Carolina Early Learning Standards; Retrieved from http://childcare.sc.gov/main/docs/gsgs_finalbook_022608.pdf; South Carolina Infant-toddler Guidelines. Retrieved from http://childcare.sc.gov/main/docs/SCInfantToddlerGuidelines.pdf.

The Achievement Gap When expectations in standards are tied to state testing processes, children who consistently do not achieve the desired outcomes fall into the so-called achievement gap. States report test scores on a continuum, with descriptors such as below basic, basic, or proficient (National Report Card ). State and federal monies for many supplemental programs and Title 1 funding are reserved for those with high numbers of children in the achievement gap. Consequently the labeling of individuals, groups of children, or even entire schools as underachievers is a sensitive issue.

While students need and deserve to be assessed and evaluated so that teachers can provide them with appropriate support, NAEYC and other early childhood advocacy groups insist that

http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/

Who Is the American Child Today? Chapter 3

these processes should view children first in terms of what they know and can do. The core principles of the 2011 Reaffirmed NAEYC Code of Ethical Conduct clearly promote positive and respectful images of young children. They suggest that we:

• Appreciate childhood as a unique and valuable stage of the human life cycle

• Base our work on knowledge of how children develop and learn

• Appreciate and support the bond between the child and family

• Recognize that children are best understood and supported in the context of family, culture, community, and society

• Respect the dignity, worth, and uniqueness of each individual (child, family member, and colleague)

• Respect diversity in children, families, and colleagues

• Recognize that children and adults achieve their full potential in the context of rela- tionships that are based on trust and respect (NAEYC, 2005, p. 1)

Individual Stressors

Today’s young children are probably unaware of the arguments over how they should be tested, measured, categorized, and labeled. But they develop a self-image and are influenced by interactions with their families, immediate environments, peer groups, and teachers. They

are also not oblivious to the hardships and challenges they may encounter as a result of socioeconomic conditions, family dynamics, and the pressure to be success- ful in school.

In the Hurried Child (2001), psychologist David Elkind asserts that today’s child is overscheduled, overtested, overfed, and overmarketed; pressured to grow up too soon; and denied the pleasures of being a child. Elkind describes this child as the “Superkid, with precocious powers, even as an infant” (p. xvi), a victim of “over- whelming stress borne of rapid, over- whelming social change and constantly rising expectations” (p. 3).

Early childhood classrooms and care set- tings offer opportunities for teachers to create environments without these kinds of pressures—places where children can be children, with the teacher’s image of each one constructed from interactions with that child. Having reasonable devel-

opmentally appropriate expectations without imposing or projecting adult issues onto chil- dren is a significant priority for preschool teachers. The remainder of this chapter is devoted to practical suggestions about how this is to be done.

Even young children today experience numerous stress- ors, including increasing academic pressure.

How Do Teachers Individualize the Curriculum? Chapter 3

3.3 How Do Teachers Individualize the Curriculum? In later chapters, we discuss teaching strategies for implementing different aspects of the cur- riculum. In this section, we concentrate on strategies and practices that specifically address getting to know your students and developing the objective eye that enables you to approach curriculum decisions that will best serve the specific children you teach.

Introductions

Philosopher John Locke (Chapter 1) believed that each baby begins life as a “blank slate” on which all of later experiences are written. Teachers can apply this concept to their own experi- ence. The teacher might greet each child thinking, “I can’t wait to meet you and get to know you!” or “I wonder what interesting and amazing things you will do today!” As you make plans to meet the seventeen children we described in the opening vignette, let’s look at some ways you might gather information about them so as to “start from scratch” with each child.

Home Visits Consider that meeting a new teacher, entering the child-care or school setting for the first time, or changing classroom groups can be scary for children! It is therefore advisable to schedule and conduct home visits so that your initial meeting will be in surroundings famil- iar to the child. A home visit can ease the child’s transition from home to school and give you a chance to see the context in which the child operates outside of school. You can develop valuable insights about children that demystify some of the characteristics they show at school, such as shyness, independence, a bois- terous or subdued personality, and social skills. A home visit also tells the family and child that you are interested in them and that you want to develop a positive relationship.

A home visit should focus on developing initial rapport with the child, but it also gives a parent or guardian the opportu- nity to ask questions or have an initial conversation about any particular con- cerns or goals they have for their child. Some families may not be comfortable with a “teacher visit” because of family circumstances, logistics, or negative past experiences with teachers or schools. In those cases, suggesting a visit to school or “neutral territory” such as a neighborhood café or the public library can work.

Things you can do to engage the child on a home or preliminary visit include:

• Bringing along a small gift (such as a seashell with the child’s name on it to welcome him or her to the “Seashell” class at preschool)

A home visit can ease the child’s transition to school and provide the teacher with information that can be helpful in personalizing the curriculum.

How Do Teachers Individualize the Curriculum? Chapter 3

• Reading a story (a favorite book at home or one you bring with you)

• Playing an age-appropriate game (or with a toy the child suggests)

• Taking the child’s picture (for later use in the classroom)

• Taking a picture of the child and his or her family (for later use in the classroom)

Some programs, like Head Start, incorporate home visits as part of the program (Administration for Children and Families, 2012). If your school or program does not do so, try to work with the child’s caregiver to find a time and place that is satisfactory. Thirty minutes is a reason- able time to allow for a visit; less doesn’t give you enough time to interact substantively, and more may put undue stress on the family or child. One teacher described the home visits she conducts as

a window on the world of my prospective students that I find invaluable; it isn’t always easy to find the time to visit, but it makes the beginning of the year so much easier, as I get a feel for what each child is like and ideas for what to do in the first few days of school to help them feel comfortable and excited about being in my class. (Personal interview, August, 24, 2011)

Interest Inventories An interest inventory is a questionnaire constructed to collect information about children’s routines and habits, likes and dislikes, interests, and even fears or anxieties. The inventory can be given to parents or guardians before the child enters your class or care group or can be conducted as a phone conversation or email correspondence. Especially with children who are preverbal, knowing some personal information about a child’s preferences ahead of time can give you a “short list” of ideas or strategies to try to help the child settle in with you in the first few days.

Over the long term, having an idea about what the children in your group or class are inter- ested in can be invaluable. As you plan activities, pick curriculum themes, and choose mate- rials and books for activity centers, knowing something about the children’s interests takes some of the guesswork out of planning how to engage them in the curriculum.

Personal Interviews With children who are old enough to converse and especially when a home visit is not practi- cal, a one-on-one interview with each new child can be helpful to obtain the kind of informa- tion described above. Think of it as finding “quality time” for each child in your care, not just when you first meet the child but on a regular basis thereafter. Many times children reveal information only once they have developed a trusting and open relationship with their care- giver or teacher. The earlier a trusting relationship can be established, the sooner the teacher or caregiver can get the information needed to effectively plan curriculum activities and goals. “Face time” with individual children is essential so that you learn, for example, what moti- vates or inspires them to good behavior, why they may be struggling socially, or how they are responding to the curriculum.

Preparing the Classroom to Represent the Children in It

As you prepare your classroom or care setting to receive and welcome new children, one of your primary objectives should be to represent the actual children and their families as authentically as possible. You can use the pictures you took on your home visit (or on the first

How Do Teachers Individualize the Curriculum? Chapter 3

day of school if that wasn’t possible) in a number of ways, including:

• Making or using frames and dis- playing each child’s picture in the classroom. Picture frames are valu- able because their use conveys a “hidden curriculum” message that what is in them is important.

• Assembling a book of pictures of all the children, with a short story about each child based on informa- tion you collected in your inven- tories or interviews. Read it often and consider it part of your literacy curriculum. For children who are not native English speakers, pro- vide the story in the child’s home language as well as English. If you don’t speak the child’s home language, ask the parents to help you translate or use an online text translator tool (e.g., https://translate.google.com/).

• Using a picture and the child’s printed name to label the storage place for his or her personal belongings and/or classroom work cubby.

• Starting a small scrapbook or photo album for each child and family that the child can add to as time goes on. Having their families “with them” at school can help children manage separation from their families or a difficult day.

• Making a collage of all the children’s family photos. This contributes to developing a sense of community, as it is personalized to the actual families in your class.

• Printing out the pictures of the children in “index” format (multiple small images on a single sheet of paper). Laminate them or cover them with clear contact paper so that they will be durable, and use or hide them in places around the classroom so the children will find themselves and their friends unexpectedly. For example, they can be put in the sand table, taped onto the sides of blocks, on the backs of chairs or puzzle pieces, inside lunchboxes, and so on.

• Indicating each child’s birthday with a photo on the classroom calendar.

• Putting Velcro or another fastener on the back of the child’s picture and creating a “here” and “not here” chart that the children can manage independently to announce their arrivals and departures.

• Making a matching “lotto” game using the children’s pictures. This is a game with pictures arranged in a grid and a set of individual pictures that children place on top of the matching image.

“One Size Does Not Fit All”

As explained in Chapter 1, the factory model of schooling involves a “one size fits all” approach, assuming all children need or should work on the same thing at the same time, with an expected uniform mastery of skills. As some early childhood curricula in use today

Representing actual rather than generic children is an important strategy for constructing an authentic image.

https://translate.google.com/

How Do Teachers Individualize the Curriculum? Chapter 3

are designed from this perspective, it can be especially challenging to construct an individual image of each child when you are expected to deliver a curriculum for a large group. A curriculum with preprinted worksheets or workbooks and commercial artwork or graphics that represent “generic” children may or may not accurately represent the children in your class. Moreover, such activities are generally considered developmentally inappropriate for preschool-aged children (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009, p. 154). If the curriculum does not represent the children in your class, the “hidden curriculum” can confuse children when they don’t see images that depict how they view themselves, or it can contribute to construction of an “outsider” image that makes children less likely to engage with literature and activities.

In this type of circumstance teachers and caregivers can ensure the individual engagement of children by:

• Supplementing commercial curriculum materials with photos of the children from the class/group and real-life materials that represent their cultures and life experiences.

• Finding ways to connect stories and activities to experiences relevant and meaningful to the children in the class or group.

• Balancing required whole-group activities with one-on-one time for each child.

Fostering Independence

A primary goal of early childhood education is helping each child to become independent (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009). The concept of independence is obviously relative to a child’s age, environmental awareness, language facility, and physical strength. We wouldn’t assume that a 3-year-old can cross a street, bake cookies, or operate mechanical equipment safely

without assistance. But there are many things we can do to guide the develop- ment of self-help skills and involve chil- dren in classroom routines that foster a sense of responsibility and an “I can do it” attitude. Furthermore, the teacher who wants to create a supportive classroom or home-care community understands that independence happens more surely and quickly with careful planning.

Promoting Responsibility, Account- ability, and Organization Sometimes we do things unconsciously that reinforce child dependency. There are certainly products and tools that for safety purposes must be stashed safely out of a child’s reach. However, when you store classroom materials in locations that are inaccessible to the children, they

always have to ask you to get them out and put them away. Each time that happens, it takes time away from your focus on instructional priorities and conveys a message to the children that you don’t believe them capable or helpful. You might want to store the materials in this

Limiting choices and storing one material per space helps children to know where each item belongs.

How Do Teachers Individualize the Curriculum? Chapter 3

way because you think that the children won’t care for them properly, but even children as young as age 2 can use materials and put them back where they belong.

The key is organization and logical, thoughtful arrangements, an idea first put forth by Montessori and an important feature of developmentally appropriate practice (Copple & Bredekamp, 2009). Many of the things we can do to involve children in access to classroom materials can also be structured to teach and reinforce important concepts, such as matching and sorting.

Here are some suggestions to provide children with direction and encourage them to be help- ful and involved in care of the classroom or care setting:

• Make one space for each material. A child will find it much easier to put a truck away when there is one clear space reserved for it.

• Provide picture, symbol, or cutout silhouette labels on shelves so that children know where items are to be replaced.

• Explain your expectations for how to manage materials and routines. If children are to meet the classroom expectations, they need to know what those expectations are.

• Store bulk materials in clear con- tainers with picture labels that indicate what belongs in each one. For example, you can cut pictures out of product catalogs that match each material and tape the pictures on the outside of the container. Children old enough to manage scissors can help with this job and often enjoy doing so.

• If your budget for classroom stor- age equipment or shelving is lim- ited, many affordable options are still available, such as plastic stack- able crates, cement blocks, and boards. Avoid large toy storage boxes or containers that encourage dumping.

• In dramatic play areas, hang only one piece of dress-up clothing per hook or hanger. Line up shoes. Organize pots and pans, dishes, utensils, and play food with diagrams or picture labels to indicate where they belong.

• Use color-coded storage for markers, crayons, paints, and other art materials.

• Assign or allow children to self-select age-appropriate classroom helper responsibilities for everything you can think of that they would be capable of doing themselves. Make a picture chart that clearly indicates each job and who is responsible for it.

Children who are involved in classroom care routines develop a sense of ownership, empowerment, and iden- tity as members of a community.

How Do Teachers Individualize the Curriculum? Chapter 3

Self-Help Skills Similarly, developing the ability to tend to their personal needs provides young children with a sense of independence and pride. There are many ways in which self-help routines can be incorporated into classroom activities. For example, times of the day when children arrive and leave, lunch, nap, and hygiene routines include many personal tasks that children can learn to manage by themselves.

Practical items for mealtimes like “sippy cups” give tod- dlers the chance to develop grasping and control of a cup without having to deal with the spills that would other- wise occur. Other things that you can do to help children learn how to take care of themselves include:

• Making photo charts that display step-by-step direc- tions, using the children in the class to model things like hand washing and entry and departure routines. Teach the children a simple song that will help them to time how long to soap, rinse, and so on.

• Asking parents to dress children who are being toilet- trained in pull-up pants or other clothing that is easy for them to remove and put back on without help. Similarly, ask for shoes, jackets, and other clothing that children can manage with a minimum of adult assistance.

• Asking parents to send nap/rest-time supplies in an open tote bag with a simple snap closure so children can pack and unpack themselves. Fully zippered back- packs and book bags often require adult assistance, and managing them can be very frustrating for young children.

• In programs where children bring their own lunches, provide a place mat that is diagrammed with places to put their utensils, cups, and food containers.

• For older preschoolers, rather than having adults serve snacks, set up the snack area as a self-serve area with picture instructions for how much they may take, what utensil to use, and so on.

Balancing Child-Initiated and Teacher-Directed Choices

We want to imagine young children as “problem solvers” because children benefit from being allowed to make choices that they and we consider important in many ways. They can learn about cause and effect in a way that is personally meaningful. When they see that adults not only trust them to make choices but hold them accountable in consistent, reasonable, and logical ways, they become more confident. Our image of them as decision makers is also informed by observing what they are able to do unassisted and the kind of initiative they exhibit independently. The keys to balancing when and how children can make decisions are good judgment, intentional role modeling, and a thorough understanding of each child’s capabilities and interests.

Materials like the Montessori dressing frames can be regularly incorporated in classroom activities, thus helping children develop the fine motor skills needed to manage their clothing.

How Do Teachers Individualize the Curriculum? Chapter 3

Developing Self-Regulation and Problem-Solving Skills Learning to make decisions is a developmental process. With young toddlers, you make sure there are several baby dolls, for example, because deciding to share is not something we expect from them yet. You might, however, give the same toddler two equally acceptable choices for snack. The child must choose one and set aside the other and thus begins to understand what making a choice means. Since toddlers are also typically beginning to under- stand the power of the word no, the two-choice strategy can be very helpful when they refuse to do something. When we tell the child who refuses to put on his shoes that he can put them on now and go outside to play immediately or sit with you and watch his friends play until he puts them on, we let him know he has a choice but that no isn’t one of them. Thus a power struggle is avoided.

If you want children to see themselves as problem solvers as they get older, then you have to intentionally teach them how to resolve conflicts in a way they can manage themselves. Let’s say you observe two children arguing over what to do next while building a block structure. Telling the children what to do next eliminates any opportunity for them to make a decision. Instructing them to “use your words” to solve the problem is also useless if they don’t under- stand what that means. However, if you model and practice a conflict-resolution process as a regular part of your curriculum and set aside a designated place for problem solving, with a special name such as the peace table or problem-solving spot, you can turn over control for resolving the issue to them with a reasonable expectation that they will be successful.

Once children are at the peace table, let them know they are to follow a certain process. The process might go something like this: (1) the children take turns speaking, (2) each child states his or her idea of what the problem is, (3) each child offers a solution, (4) they agree to accept one or more of the solutions, and (5) they offer one another a gesture of friendship to conclude the process (Southern Poverty Law Center, 1997). Creating a picture chart (Figure 3.3) or other kind of diagram with a movable indicator can help move the children through the problem-solving steps. Also let them know that they need to consult with you only if they reach an impasse or if the solutions they offer aren’t reasonable and safe.

Figure 3.2: Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

Step-by-step instructions for classroom routines are especially meaningful if the photos used picture children from the group.

When I Come In 1. Post Picture 3. Sign-in2. Put Lunch Away 4. Wash Hands

How Do Teachers Individualize the Curriculum? Chapter 3

Developing Executive Functioning Young children can be included in making decisions and solving problems that enhance or are consistent with your curriculum objectives in ways that also promote executive functioning. In particular, giving children opportunities to make decisions that involve planning promotes higher-order thinking because it requires processing mental “what-if” scenarios.

For example, two teachers, Jane and Mary, were planning a summer field trip and picnic to a city park with their group of 5-year-olds. The children had visited the park once before. Jane had recently broken her ankle and was in a wheelchair. When one of the children asked, “How will Miss Jane get to the park in her wheelchair?” a “Miss Jane Committee” of children was formed to deal with logistical issues.

The big planning question was, “What kind of things might make it difficult for Miss Jane to get around in the wheelchair?” The children remembered that the park had both sidewalks and gravel pathways. They knew there was a step to get on the city bus. They didn’t think Miss Jane could carry her purse, water bottle, sunscreen, and camera and use both her hands for the wheelchair at the same time. They also worried that the sidewalks and pathways might not provide shade on a hot, sunny afternoon and that she might not be able to get to the area of the park where the playground was. A big question was the location of the handicapped- accessible bathroom.

The teachers helped the children make a list of the challenges and brainstorm possible solu- tions and recommendations, which they reported to the whole class. After much discussion, the class decided that:

• The two strongest children in the class would be in charge of pushing the wheelchair.

Figure 3.3: Problem Solver

A hands-on prop can be very helpful to children who are trying to resolve a conflict because it helps them to manage the steps in the process. Note that this example uses clip art, but a prop that used photos of the children would be even better.

How Do Teachers Individualize the Curriculum? Chapter 3

• They designated one child to be responsible for all of Miss Jane’s personal belongings and to pack all of her supplies in a cloth grocery bag and tie it to the handles of the wheelchair. She was also responsible for getting Miss Jane’s things in and out of the bag when they were needed.

• They borrowed a large golf umbrella from one of the other teachers to provide shade.

• They asked Miss Jane to help them make a phone call to the city bus company to find out how they would get the wheelchair on the bus.

• They found a map of the city park from the previous visit and plotted out the best route to get Miss Jane from the bus stop to the playground and to the bathroom.

• They practiced pushing Miss Jane’s wheelchair up and down the hallway and all around the classroom and playground to learn how to navigate turns, slopes, and uneven surfaces.

• They also decided to give Miss Jane some notepaper and a pen to write down any- thing at the park that they didn’t think of for “next time.”

The teachers obviously could have identified these challenges and planned how to deal with them, but they also knew that the children had plenty of prior knowledge about the park. And because they saw the children as problem solvers and had modeled different decision-making strategies with them, the teachers felt that the children could col- laborate to anticipate and plan for what might happen.

After the trip, a debriefing session focused on the importance of the children’s planning to the suc- cessful outcomes of the trip. During several sub- sequent trips to other city parks, unanticipated problems were encountered from time to time, but the children solved them; they even ended up tutoring a new bus driver about how to use the lift (Personal interview, June 30, 2011).

To involve children in regular opportunities to develop and practice planning strategies, your classroom helper chart might include responsibili- ties like

• Choosing the read-aloud stories and rest-time music for each day of the week

• Planning the weekly snack menu from a list of available choices

• Reporting on the weather in terms of what kind of clothing will be needed for outdoor time

• Deciding when the classroom plants and garden need to be watered

• Announcing transition times

We reinforce the image of children as problem solvers when we allow and encourage them to deal with real-world challenges.

How Do Teachers Individualize the Curriculum? Chapter 3

Finding Joy in School

As you make decisions about how to organize your classroom, involve young children in problem solving, display their work products, and report their progress, you demonstrate to the rest of the world how you view your students and what you think they are capable of. Your classroom or care setting can be a cheerful or somber place, and the children’s faces will reflect the kind of setting they are in. Finding and expressing joy in your daily interactions with children can make the difference between children who believe in themselves as strong and optimistic about the future and those who plod through their days in care or school feeling helpless and disengaged.

The Inner Child One of the ways you can find joy in teaching is to regularly revisit your own inner child. As teachers plan activities and work with curriculum, they need to think about goals, objectives, and logistical arrangements. Equally important, however, is to consider how children will experience the curriculum. Even though we understand theoretically why a child stands end- lessly at the water table, pouring water back and forth, we may not remember or appreciate the tactile satisfaction which is part of that experience. The wonder that we see on a young child’s face the first time he sees a monarch butterfly emerge from its cocoon or discovers that yellow and red paint combine to make orange may be long forgotten in our own memory. So get down on the floor or sit beside your children and participate! A child who seems reluctant to smear finger paint across a wet paper will be much more likely to take the risk if you do it too. Teachers regularly structure activities for children or put materials in front of children and ask or expect the children to use them. The teacher who experiences curriculum with the children is in a better position to make decisions about how to engage and support them.

Experiencing the curriculum with the children will also help you understand the inner child in each of the students you teach. Often that is the child you need to reach to really understand how to make the curriculum work. Your first impressions will most likely span the gamut from children who seem reluctant, curious, shy, enthusiastic, hostile, laid back, or ambivalent. The teacher who is distant and aloof will never know who he or she is really working with; that teacher’s image of the child will continue to be informed by what others say and by impres- sions that may not accurately represent the child within.

Building trust requires connecting with each child on a personal level, so that they know you care about them and what happens to them, are curious about what they think, and firm with them when they need guidance. These things give children the emotional security they need to share with you their impressions, confidences, questions, and fears—information you can use to develop, adapt, and personalize whatever curriculum you use to best represent what your children know and do.

Connecting Children with the Natural World Last, part of our image of today’s children involves their need to be protected from a danger- ous world. Children are constantly supervised in commercial outdoor spaces that are created especially for them and include plastic, brightly colored structures, clearly defined boundar- ies, and artificial turf. Gone are the days when children roamed the fields, dug in the dirt, or were pushed out the door to play on the street or in the neighborhood until dusk or until the streetlights came on.

Chapter Summary Chapter 3

Particularly in urban areas, many children are not familiar with natural space; they may think that milk and vegetables “come from the grocery store,” and they may be frightened by anything that crawls. Gary Nabhan and Stephen Trimble wrote that “many now consider chil- dren’s experience of wildness a luxury rather than a basic human need” (1994, p. xiii). In Last Child in the Woods (2008) Richard Louv goes so far as to say that children are suffering from “nature-deficit disorder.”

In a later chapter we will address outdoor curriculum in greater detail, but it is relevant to consider here the importance of structuring an image of the future child who is connected to the natural world. As neuroscience continues to reveal the complexities of how children pro- cess stimuli and experiences, early childhood educators also realize that active outdoor play is instrumental in the development of psychological health, cognition, and higher-order thinking (Schiller, 2001). Outdoor curriculum can be justified not just because it promotes development but also for esoteric reasons and the reconstruction of a lost image of children that early child- hood educators would like to regain (Wirth & Malcusak, 2012).

Chapter Summary • Images of children and childhood have changed greatly over the centuries, from por-

trayal as miniature adults and the property of others to the romanticized visions of young children popular in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

• Societal values and science inform the ways we view children, and while we know more about the ways they grow and develop than ever before, our image of children today is complex and sometimes conflicted.

• Children are characterized and labeled alternatively as competent and dependent, at risk and promising. Their development of gender identity is influenced by adult atti- tudes and changing social standards.

• The diversity in our classrooms as well as conditions and policies imposed on teachers have a great deal to do with how teachers view their students, who are increasingly described in terms of readiness and achievement or lack thereof.

• Children today experience many stressors related to adult expectations and a child- hood that feels rushed.

• There are many things teachers can do with curriculum to construct and portray authentic images of the children they teach. These include (1) gathering information about children’s families and interests; (2) using photographs and other objects to represent the classroom community accurately; (3) personalizing the curriculum; and (4) promoting independence, responsibility, and problem-solving skills.

• Finding ways to connect children with nature promotes physical and psychological health.

Posttest Chapter 3

Posttest

1. Understanding the different ways children have been portrayed and described both historically and currently is important because:

a. A teacher’s image of the child can be a more powerful influence on the way he or she teaches than the theories and strategies he or she has been taught.

b. Curriculum materials should be chosen to reflect the idealized “generic” child, and history tells us what that child is like.

c. Effective teachers use curriculum to mold children to the image society desires.

d. Society tends to perpetuate an image of children and childhood that is grounded in reality, and it is the teacher’s job to be consistent with that.

2. Child advocates consider labeling used to describe children from a developmental per- spective problematic because:

a. Schools and programs are dependent on funding that is tied to the way children are categorized and described.

b. People who apply labels to children don’t understand what they mean.

c. Labels can prevent people from seeing the “whole child.”

d. Once children are labeled, they receive services and entitlements that other children don’t receive.

3. An “at-risk” child is one who:

a. Shows no promise for success in school because the challenges are just too great to overcome.

b. Enters the early childhood program with challenges but can be successful with tar- geted support and encouragement.

c. Behaves with little regard for personal safety and must be supervised closely.

d. Traditionally experiences more success in school than a child who is not at risk.

4. According to NAEYC, in Developmentally Appropriate Programs, children are deemed ready for entry to kindergarten when:

a. They can write their names and know all the letters of the alphabet.

b. They can sit still and listen for ten to fifteen minutes.

c. They are old enough to attend.

d. They pass a readiness test.

5. Teachers who model conflict-resolution skills and strategies for children and then encour- age them to solve their own disagreements:

a. Risk losing control of the classroom because the children may become defiant.

b. Promote an image of children as problem solvers.

c. Must be careful that they do not use up too much instructional time for noninstruc- tional activities.

d. Set the children up for failure because young children can’t solve problems on their own.

Discussion Questions Chapter 3

6. Home visits provide the teacher with:

a. Information about which children come from the best families.

b. Enough data to know how to plan curriculum activities for the year.

c. All the information they need to group children for instruction.

d. Opportunities to establish reciprocal relationships with families.

7. Using routines as opportunities to promote self-help skills and independence:

a. Helps children think of themselves as competent.

b. Takes too much time away from instruction and is therefore not advisable.

c. Works only for children over the age of 3.

d. Are the only opportunities teachers have to work with each child individually.

8. One of the reasons children should have opportunities to play outdoors is that:

a. Teachers need time during the day for planning and assessment responsibilities.

b. It’s the only way to control the obesity epidemic.

c. Many children have lost the opportunity to connect with the natural world.

d. Schools invest a lot of money in playgrounds and it shouldn’t be wasted.

9. The role of adults in children’s gender identity development is closely associated with:

a. Parental and peer observations.

b. Stereotyping and power dynamics.

c. Familial history and genetics.

d. Fixed notions about sexual orientation.

10. Posing “what-if” scenarios to children is helpful for development of:

a. Executive functioning and higher order thinking.

b. Creativity and imagination.

c. A focus on thinking about the future.

d. An image of the child as obedient and compliant.

Answers: 1 (a); 2 (c); 3 (b); 4 (c); 5 (b); 6 (d); 7 (a); 8 (c); 9 (b); 10 (a)

Discussion Questions

1. What is your image of the young child? What experiences or ideas influenced the con- struction of this image?

2. How do you imagine we will perceive the child of the future, and how will curriculum adapt?

3. Using the description of the seventeen imaginary children from the opening vignette, describe how you would prepare for and welcome these children to your class.