This ISN'T Gustavo, the author of our first chapter 6 entry...but it is his "first nephew in the family. His name is Isaiah Escalante born on September 24th, 2010. He weighed 8 pounds 6 ounces and his height is 22 inches." Can you tell that Gustavo is a proud uncle?! Can't blame him...this little guy is CUTE!
And I think that when you read Gustavo's response to this chapter, you'll see that he feels strongly that all children should be valued. Enjoy!
While reading this chapter I think I really agreed with pretty much everything the author talked about. I do believe that society puts way too much emphasis on children’s IQ. After reading this chapter I did stop and think about the author’s point about what IQ really measures. I believe that sometimes it’s more important to let children learn on their own. They should be able to learn from their own experiences, and now they rarely do that because parents as well as the society focus more on academic learning. Parents worry about having their child be one of the smartest. I agree when the author talks about how this way of thinking can have a negative effect on overall life success. I also think that parents now are not happy with their children being just normal. I think that there are many factors that contribute to being intelligent, and they are not all necessarily intellectual. Kids learn things in other ways; I think that kids learn about life by learning to socialize with others.
When I read this chapter I noticed some things that I really never saw before. For example, I live in the same household with my sister, who is older than me; she has a daughter that is 7 years old. After reading this chapter I noticed that my sister is really hard on my niece when it comes to education. When my sister is doing homework with her daughter she puts a lot of pressure on her to get the answers right. When my niece makes a mistake, my sister gets frustrated, and my niece gets upset. I think my sister does wrong by putting so much pressure on my niece. The way I see it my niece is a smart girl. She is involved in many things including soccer and Girl Scouts. I feel like my sister devalues the importance of my niece learning from her own mistakes. I think that my sister should look more carefully to see if there are other ways my niece can learn.
By talking to my sister I have also realized that sometimes parents are too hard on their own children. My sister works at a preschool and one day I went to observe in her classroom. I noticed that my sister is very different with the children in the preschool. She is definitely not hard on those children. Talking to my sister I also realized that the demands even at the preschool level have really gone higher than they used to be. My sister mentioned that now even in the preschool level they have to follow a curriculum. This means that now 3 and 4 year olds are expected to know more. My sister said that they are expected to know all their letters, sounds, numbers, colors, shapes, and many other things. They also have to know how to write their name by the time they leave preschool to go on to kindergarten.
When I went to observe at the preschool my sister works at, I noticed that they do have free play, but not too much because the time is limited because of all the academic learning they have to do. This chapter only leaves me with one question: What do we have to do to make our society understand that a child’s IQ will not determine if that child will be successful or not? After reading this chapter I think I will talk to my sister about being more careful with her daughter, and not putting too much pressure on her. I am going to tell her to let my niece be a child while she still can. I am going to make sure I let her know that it is important for my niece to live happily.
You made a lot of nice points here, Gustavo, and I especially appreciate your thoughts on the various types of intelligence. Academics are important, yes, but they're definitely not everything. And the irony is that if we allowed children to play more -- truly play! -- they would likely do BETTER academically, as play facilitates so much of their development that will help them academically!
ReplyDeleteGustavo, I loved your pictures! I am going to have a new nephew in my family soon and seeing your pictures made me excited. I also appreciated what you had to say in your blog entry. I agree that parents are too concerned with increasing their child's IQ. It has been concluded that intelligence encompasses much more than just IQ. Children need to be encouraged to explore things on their own in order to increase their knowledge of the world within a context that they understand. I feel that free play is a great way that children learn, but is often overlooked to make room for academic learning.
ReplyDeleteKylie
Gustavo, I am amazed at how similiar my family is when it comes to homework.I have cousins who get into serious trouble because they have challenges with certain areas academically. I agree that there is too much emphasis being put on a child's IQ. Let the child play, let the child learn from their mistakes, and let them be a child. I believe that exploration is the key way to gain knowledge of the world and what it is made of. If I have child, I am going to make it a point to allow them to be just that, a child. A child makes mistakes just like any other human and there is nothing wrong with that. Godd stuff Gustavo!
ReplyDelete~Monique
Gustavo, I am glad to hear you have a genuine concern for your family. In today's society, it can be difficult to tell someone that they are doing something wrong. I hope you can encourage your sister to make better choices when raising her daughter. Your entry made me think about a conversation I had with my mother today. She used to be an elementary school teacher. Many respected her, and she was well favored by the children she taught. Her "trick" was not in math facts, drills, or anything that would be considered 'academic'. Instead, my mother was respected because she emphasized artistic, expressive, creative, and exciting learning. I have been asking her many questions now that I have a child on the way, and today she went back to the methods children learn, and not the expectations parents 'should' place upon their children. She has helped me use my parenting instincts, which have always pointed to what this chapter mentions, and not through IQ training. I am very thankful to have my mother guide me in appropriate child-rearing.
ReplyDeleteSarah Telloian
I completely agree with Gustavo, I too think there is a great deal of pressure on children these days academically. My aunt is the same way as your sister; she has had my cousin, Grace, looking at flash cards and books since she was one (she’s now six). Every time I visit them, all the attention is on how smart Grace is and how she knows so much. It makes me sad because I feel like she is missing out on having fun and being a kid. I also agree with you on how most kids today don’t get to learn from their experiences. Kids need to play with other kids, because they learn through play. My biggest concern with parents putting pressure on their kids academically is how it affects them socially. For example, Grace is a very bright kid, but she is socially awkward. I feel that kids learn just as much when playing as they do reading, although what they learn may be different, they are still learning.
ReplyDeleteCaitlin Stiglich
Gustavo, I have also seen how parents and society are hard on children when it comes to education. While reading this chapter I thought about my six year old cousin who is in the first grade. When she is doing her homework and gets something wrong I have seen her mom get frustrated and even yell at her. Also, I remember the first day she came home from school and said that they have to read 54 words a minute by the end of the school year or they would not be promoted to the second grade. Talk about pressure. Imagine if these first graders did not make the 54 word a minute requirement and were held back and how they would feel. This may lead them to stop trying because they feel like they are not smart. Emphasizing children’s IQs too much can very well have a negative impact on their life’s success, which is why it is important to let children be children and emphasize play.
ReplyDelete-Amanda
I could not agree with you more Gustavo! I agree with what the author is discussing in this chapter because I think it is ridiculous to judge a child by just one test. You mentioned that your sister is very interested in your nieces academics, as are many parents. I work at a daycare and often times when parents pick up their children the first question they ask them is “Did you finish all of your homework?”. Many of the parents do not take the time to ask how their child’s day was. Communicating with children in a caring manner is just as important as asking them about their academics. You also mentioned that your sister is a preschool teacher, and they do not spend nearly enough time playing, instead much of the time is devoted to academics. This does not surprise me at all! Many preschools today focus to much on the academic side of school, and not enough on the playful interactions children should be having. In my opinion children are too young at the preschool age to be learning academics. The reason for this is because they may be able to memorize what they are taught, but this does not mean they truly understand the concepts. One of the reasons I think people force their children to succeed in school is because they are uneducated. Some parents don’t understand that children learn at different paces, and if we push children this may trigger them to shut down. In my opinion this is why its important for parents to be educated on this situation, and they should not push their children to do anything they are not mentally ready for.
ReplyDeleteDenise
As I read this chapter I agreed with the author when she stated that parents now a days want their children to be above normal and have a successful future. Intelligence is highly preferred in American families. Before I read this chapter I had the same mind set. I thought to myself that when I became a parent I wanted my kids to be very smart so that they wouldn’t have to struggle academically. I didn’t want my children to go through what I went through due to the lack of resources and the family I was born in. I felt that as a child I wasn’t exposed to things like other kids were due to the culture differences. Throughout my schooling I’ve always felt behind compared to other children; I always had to work harder and needed further assistance to excel in school. My plan was to provide my kids with all the right resources and expose them to academics at an early age. As I read through this chapter and read Gustavo’s blog entry, my perspective changed. The authors mentioned that to succeed in life, there’s more to high IQ’s and exposure to academics at a young age: “Factors such as self-awareness, self discipline, empathy, and understanding others are all part of being truly smart and successful” (p. 128). While reading this I felt a sense of relief. The social world and “play” are very important in a child’s life. We learn from our environment and being exposed to different things. When Gustavo talked about his sister pressuring his niece to higher achievement, it reminded me of a similar story. I know a little boy who is four years old and both his parents are highly educated. They expect a lot from their children and strive for the best. This little boy who is in preschool was exposed to baby learning videos and flashcards to get a head start in reading and math. He is now able to read and do addition and subtraction. But I noticed something was missing. I observed that when this four year old came across social problems with his peers, he had a hard time dealing with these problems and his emotions. When teachers discipline him and acknowledge his misbehavior, he shows no interest and shuts down. He is unable to cope with his emotions. This made me realize that the importance of a child being exposed to social life and self awareness is just as important as academics. These factors are important when working with other people and building healthy relationships, as well as his or her success in the real world.
ReplyDelete