The benefits of Early Childhood Education on children’s development

Early Childhood Education plays an important role in providing children basic knowledge and skills for their future life. In fact, Early Childhood Education gives children better learning, economic and social benefits (Jones, 2011). It is a program which gives children a jump-start on education for their kindergarten and elementary years. Within this program, children are able to develop their cognitive, language, physical and social/emotional skills which assist them in their future learning. Children with education will have better chance in the future life as they are able to get better jobs with high incomes (Jones, 2011). Futhermore, children who attend preschool will have more chance to interact with others/peers which increases their social skills. Children who well developed social skills will easy to communicate and make friends with others as well as friendlier and sociable. Therefore, parents need to acknowledge the importance of Early Childhood Education to children’s development in order to support and give them the chance to gain knowledge from a young age which strongly effects on children’s future learning and future life.

Reference:

Jones, K. (2011). What Are the Benefits of Early Childhood Education on a Child’s Development?. eHow Family. Received May 19, 2011 from http://www.ehow.com/list_5779845_benefits-childhood-education-child_s-development_.html#ixzz1MW21duAT.

Child abuse a monster eating society

In an interview with Herald, Andrew Scipione, the Police Commissioner has identified the issues of sexual assaults in children as it particularly occurs behind the closed doors of family home and he also strongly suggests that the community needs to act to resolve this problem (Howden, 2011). Report of assaults from Internal Police showed that more than half the sexual assault victims in NSW last year were children aged 15 and under. Of those, at least 10 per cent were not yet five years old. More than 720 of the children – mostly girls – were aged five to 10. Findings also indicate that child victims were more likely to be sexually assaulted as adults, often turned to drugs and alcohol to cope, had a poor sense of self-worth, and suffered with mental health problems. The abuser is often a father or stepfather who is seen as “a monster that is eating at the very heart of our society”. Therefore, families and children need to speak up and raise concerns when there are reasonable backgrounds which they believed their children are in risk of harms. They need to acknowledge that sexual assaults can happen in any families and at any times and children who are victims of child sexual abuse need to be empathised and get help (Howden, 2011).

Reference:

Howden, S 2011, “Child abuse a monster eating society: top cop”, The Sydney Morning Herald, 19 May, viewed 19 May 2011, http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/child-abuse-a-monster-eating-society-top-cop-20110518-1et7r.html

Gender roles portray in Disney movies and how is it influence children’s act and behaviours?

The video “Disney Effects On Society” on YouTube portrays the viewer’s perspectives of gender roles identified through a variety of characters in terms of masculinity and femininity or males and females. In this video, young boys are socialised to inhabit positions of power while girls to inhabit positions of passivity. The roles of males and females are different based on their stereotypes and social perspectives. Thereby, the social images of men are strong with “power” and women are “weak” and “passive”. The stereotypical images of females in Disney movies are seen as the “wife”, the “mother” and the “homemaker” while men are seen as superheros and protectors who are strong, violent and competitive. Children learn to act in certain ways by watching people in society. By watching Disney movies, children are influenced by the characters’ act and behaviours and tend to act like them.  Therefore, boys tend to act in ways which the characters identify as aggressive, destructive and competitive and girls act as passive and expressive. According to Desouza & Czerniak (2002), boys exhibit curiosity, spontaneity and tend to be aggressive, competitive and more violent. Boys emphasise on independence and courage. This explains why young boys often pretend to be heroes, like to dress up as superheroes and act as them. Girls emphasise on domesticity and nurturance. Therefore, most of young girls like to play kitchen sets, love cooking, cleaning, washing and taking care of baby dolls. Although Disney movies have strong impact on young children, adults (educators and families) need to work together to help children gain knowledge of their gender roles and act appropriately as society expects them to do.

References:

Brinank, C. (2008). Disney Effects On Society. YouTube. Received May 13, 2011, from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qsy3BblcjCA

Desouza, J & Czerniak, C. ‘Social Behaviours and Gender Differences among Preschoolers: Implications for science activities’, Journal of Research in Childhood Education, 16(2) 2002: 175-188.

Mastering The Mother Tongue

The article “Mastering the Mother Tongue” identifies the importance of developing mother tongue to children in early childhood. By using the cassette recorder, Wajnryb – the author was able to record the conversations between him and his son (Sasha) during Sasha’s bathing time as he was a toddler and then in pre-schooler for about three years. The research showed that the actual development of languages is inextricably intertwined with the social hurly-burly of the home, with what’s going on around the child in early months of life. According to Halliday (1975) children learn their language both socially, through their exposure to others’ speech, and functionally through using language to get things done. Children learn language through observing and imitating adults. They listen to what adults say and are able to imitate them to speak as Nixon & Aldwinckle (2003: 159) states that “a child will imitate what she hears and will be rewarded by the adults around when she makes a sound close to a relevant word in her language”. Language is part of children’s life and they are able to use language to convey their meanings as well as express themselves. In fact, children who grow up in homes with close proximity to a grandparent, parent or neighbour who speaks another language may become bilingual or trilingual. Parents are role models and have huge aspects on children’s language development as they provide the necessary conditions for children’s language development through interactive exposure to language from an early age. The author states that “learning our own language is one of the major accomplishments of our lives” therefore, children’s accomplishment throughout their lives will approximate the complexity and creativity of what they achieve in mastering their mother tongue.

References:

Halliday, M. 1975 Learning How to Mean: Explorations in the Development of Language, London, Arnold.

Nixon, D & Aldwinckle, M. 2003 Exploring Child Development from three to six years. Social Science Press.  Australia.

Wajnryb, R. ‘Mastering The Mother Tongue’ Sydney’s Child the best guide for parents, May 2009.

Three common ways to respond to others’ ideas

In academic writing, there are many ways to respond to others’ ideas, however, in the book “They say. I say”, Graff and Birkenstein identify three common ways which are familiar to writers. These are agreeing, disagreeing and a combination of both. These ways provide clear understanding to readers as they are able to know where writers stand, their meanings or opinions about others’ ideas by using these formulas “I agree,” “I disagree,” or “I am of two minds” (Graff and Birkenstein, 2010, p57).

When writers agree with others’ ideas, it is not only saying “I agree” but also adding some information into the conversation to point out unnoticed implications or explain the points that need to be clearer. Therefore, it is easy for readers to understand writers’ meanings and extend their knowledge about the point which is identified in the argument.

In the other way, disagreeing is seen as the easiest way to give a response to others’ ideas as writers have to assert that they disagree and provide persuasive reasons to explain why they disagree with the points. The words “I disagree” are used as a useful tool for writers to assert that they disagree and then support their arguments with evidence. “Duh” move and “’twist it” move are two other ways to disagree. “Duh” move describes the way writers disagree with the assumption, that it’s a new or stunning revelation while “twist it” move is the way writers agree with the evidence but then use this evidence to support their own contrary position through a twist of logic. Therefore, disagreeing is one of the ways in which people use critical thinking to express their opinions and put in the arguments.

The final way which the authors mention in their book is agreeing and disagreeing simultaneously. In this way, writers may agree with other’s ideas but not fully agree with all of what they say by using the parallel structure “yes and no” or “on the one hand I agree, on the other I disagree”. These structures allow readers to clearly understand writers’ arguments and are able to put their arguments on the map of position.

In conclusion, agreeing, disagreeing and combination of both are the three most common ways to respond to others’ ideas as they are useful tools to express writers’ opinions. These ways avoid the confusion of understanding what writers are talking about as they enable readers to strongly understand writers’ arguments.

Reference:

Graff, G & Birkenstein, C .2010, “Yes/No/Okay, But – Three Ways to Respond”, in They Say, I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing, 2nd edn, W.W. Norton & Company, NewYork and London, pp 55-67.

Quoting the author’s words – an important skill for the writers

Using quotes in writing an essay is an important skill for writers as it provides evidence and worth for an essay which interests the readers and explains clearly the writers’ meanings. Chapter 3 of the book “They say. I say” identifies some common mistakes in quoting author’s words that the writers made which is the failure of writing skill and argument. This chapter also offers two key ways to produce the integration of quoting which are to quote relevant passages and frame quotations. Templates for introducing and explaining quotations are given in order to assist writers in their quoting skill.

In the book “They say. I say”, Graff and Birkenstein (2010) maintain that “many writers make a host of mistakes when it comes to quoting” (p42). Graff and Birkenstein’s point is that, in fact, the mistakes in quoting are still happening to the writers as they write essays. The reason for this is the misunderstanding of how to use the quotations correctly or how to insert the quotations into sentences and analyse it to make meaning to readers. According to Graff and Birkenstein (2010), the main problem of the writers when using quotations arise as they assume the quotations can speak for themselves which it is not accurate for every analysis (p43). This point identifies that writers fail to explain the meaning of the quotations which they have used to clarify to readers.  Failure in using quotations is the result of unclear and boring essays.

It is necessary to select appropriate quotations which are relevant to the text as they are able to support the writers’ argument. Quotations come from a variety of sources such as books, newspapers, articles and websites and so on; however, choosing appropriate quotations is important for the writers to value their argument. The quotation must be relevant to what the writers are trying to say or explain as it provides evidence for their writing. Appropriate quotations allow a clear and deeper understanding of the writers’ meanings.

Graff and Birkenstein (2010) state to “Frame every quotation” which allows the writers to speak for themselves and make the relevance and meaning to the readers. As the writers quoting, they need to explain their quotations and identify their ideas or comment on the author’s words which clarify the meanings to the readers. Failure in an introduction and explanation of the quotation is the reason which leads to misunderstanding or unclear meanings to readers. Frame a quotation in which Graff and Birkenstein (2010) call a “quotation sandwich” (p46) is that introduction serves “as the top slice of bread” while explanation serves “as the bottom slice”. Therefore, it is required to introduce the person who is speaking first and then explain the quote.

Quoting is important in writing and it is a necessary skill for writers to structure their arguments about the author’s words. Quoting relevant passages and framing every quotation are the two key ways to produce the integration in writing. Acknowledging this, writers can bring the evidence into their text and allow clear meaning to readers.

Reference:

Graff, G & Birkenstein, C 2010, They Say, I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing, 2nd edn, W.W. Norton & Company, NewYork London.

What is visual literacy and why is it important to children?

Visual literacy refers to the ability to discriminate, interpret and create meaning with images (Leschak, 2003). In modern society, visual literacy is involved in our daily life activities therefore it can be seen everywhere. Visual literacy can include drawing, painting, picture books, hand signs, street signs, symbols, layout of the pictures and words in a textbook, computer images, movies or video, television advertisements, facial expressions, body language and many many more. Children are living in a visual world and their ability in reading, and understanding visual images is a vital skill. Children use their senses to explore the world and learn from it. Through visual imagery, children read, interpret and understand the meanings of images, build up their critical and creative thinking. Visual literacy enhances children’s creative capacity (Leschak, 2003) and observational skills. It also improves their visual represented comprehension (Weaver, 1999) and capacity to develop powerful concepts and solutions (Elkins, 2007). Understanding important roles of visual literacy to children will assist Early Childhood educators provide appropriate teaching programs which give children opportunities to develop a variety of visual literacy skills.

References:

Elkins, J. (2007). Visual Literacy. New York:  Routledge.

Leschak, P. (2003). Why is Visual Literacy important? Picture this: Visual Literacy Activities. Received March 20, 2011 from http://museumca.org/picturethis/visual.html

Weaver, M. (1999). Visual Literacy: How to Read and Use Information in Graphic Form. New York:  Learning Express

When should we introduce children to computers and what are the benefits of computers to young children?

The use of technology is very popular in our contemporary society. Computers play an important role in enhancing children’s knowledge, development and skills. Children are encouraged to use computers at a very young age. Findings indicate that many researchers do not recommend children under the age of three to use computers because it does not help in their development skills such as crawling, walking, climbing, talking (Haugland, 2006).  Children are ready to use computers when they are 3 or 4 years old as at this time, children are able to use fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination, communication and other skills to learn and gain knowledge from computers. According to Heft & Swaminathan (2002), computers bring a lot of benefits for children; it could support social interactions through turn taking, conflict resolution and problem solving.  In fact, using computers also help young children improve their motor skills, increase creativity, develop language through communication and cooperation with others. Through exploring computer experiences, children enhance their memory skills, learn how to seek out and access information, able to seek for help, interact with friends and cooperate with others during playing time. Therefore, educators need to acknowledge the benefits of computers and put it into programs so that children have the chance to access technology at a young age which assists them in the future.

References:

Haugland, S 2006, Children and Computers, Education.com, viewed 5 May 2011, < http://www.education.com/reference/article/Ref_Computers_Children/>

Heft, T & Swaminathan, S 2002, The effects of computers on the social behaviour of pre-schoolers. Journal of research in childhood education, 16(2), 162-174

The importance of quotations in writing

Writer’s acknowledgements of how to use quotations effectively will help them successfully write their arguments which clarify and make sense to readers. In the book “They Say, I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing”, Graff and Birkenstein (2010) state that a number of writers make mistakes when they come to quoting and it is a result of misunderstanding of how to use the quotations correctly. They identify the main problem with quoting arises when the writers assume the quotations can speak for itself. The writers assume the meaning of quotations is clear for readers which it is not necessarily the explanation and it is enough to put the quotations into the text. To solve this problem, Graff and Birkenstein give writers two key ways to produce this integration are to quote relevant passages and frame quotations. These are useful tools for writers to add value to their writing and create meanings to readers. Using the writers’ own words to blend the author’s words is also a useful way to quote instead of using author’s word for word. An introduction and explanation should be used to clarify the quotations and express the writers’ ideas so readers can understand the writer’s meanings or what they want to say in their arguments.

Reference:

Graff, G & Birkenstein, C 2010, They Say, I Say: The Moves that Matter in Academic Writing, 2nd edn, W.W. Norton & Company, NewYork London.

A young boy and Christmas day

The picture portrays a young boy who is sleeping in a rocking chair while wearing a Santa cap on Christmas day. The nice and soft blanket covers his body and keeps him warm on the cold Christmas day and feelings of safety and peace as National Childcare Accreditation Council (2006) states “All children have the right to be safe.”  The safety makes people feel unworried, comfortable and self-confident. The rocking chair becomes a bed, rocking to put the boy in a deep sleep while waiting for his present from Santa. The image describes the home environment with a decorated Christmas tree, an old clock and a fireplace behind the young boy that provides cosy feelings for the house.  The viewer is attracted by the red coloured Santa cap and an innocent face with closed eyes that is making the sleeping boy become the focus of the image. Colour, tone and light are combined to provide a high quality image and evoke an emotional response in the viewer. Gittins (2008) identifies “We use images to a great extent to express real feelings and experiences which the images/memories represent” (p.36).

References

Gittins, D. (2004). The historical construction of childhood. In M.J. Kehily (Ed.). An introduction to childhood studies (p38). Maidenhead: Open University Press.

Image 1. A boy is wearing Santa cap, sleeping in a rocking chair under blanket. Received April 5, 2011, from http://en.fotolia.com/id/10295046

National Childcare Accreditation Council. (2006). Safety in Children’s Services. National Childcare Accreditation Council. Received April 5, 2011, from www.ncac.gov.au/factsheets/qias_factsheet_%202.pdf