Friday, June 24, 2016
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you
These two quotes remind me why I decided to become an early childhood professional. Children are uniquely different and learn on various levels. So we as educators ned to find creative and engaging ways to guide our children through development. I want to take the time out to thank my fellow colleagues for inspiring me on this journey. You have shared with me some insights on child development that have truly enhanced my understanding. I have been motivated to continue my career in ECE as a leader who's determined to bring out the best in each child I interact with. Looking forward to future endeavors with you all.
Friday, June 10, 2016
My thoughts on assessing school age children
In today's school system, school age children are being prepared for standardised testing, instead of an education. With those standards in place, student progress and achievement will be measured according to state tests designed to match those state standards and given to every child, every year (Rapple,2004,p. 195). If school age children must be assessed, then they should be conducted three times a year, beginning, middle and of course the end of the year. During these assessments, the teacher would be able to pinpoint the child's progress and develop a plan to help in areas that need improvement. I believe crowding unfamiliar information into the minds of children can be a bit overwhelming. Most psychologists now agree that the brain is like a muscle, affected by mental exercise which often encourage or discourage by social setting. Brain structures grow or shrink depending on past learning (Berger,2016,p.359). If teachers are able to teach children the basic skills they need for life-long lessons and assess them on these skills, the scores would be a much better turn out.
One of the countries I decided to research was Geat Britain. Just like our American school Britain, have standardized testing as well. But more than three- quarters of teachers believe that pupils' enjoyment of education is being damaged by the Government's methods for measuring and raising achievement - its tests and exams regime( Mansel,2008). It amazes me that the effect that testing has on school age children in various countries. In the article "Smiles better than testing", Warwick Mansel, express the concerns of vigorous preparation for testing have on children. However, many professionals believe that the testing side has dominated, marginalising pupil development. I particular, there is a widespread view that putting children through months of test preparation, with aim of raising their achievement, can be boring for some and make others anxious (Mansel,2008).
Assessing school age children should be an enjoyable moment between the teacher and child. In these moments, one should be able to locate the child's strengths and or weaknesses. From these skills, I believe children should be tested on so that the process can be memorable and a complete success.
References
Mansel,W(2008).Smiles better than testing?TES: Times Educational Supplement,(4780),14-15.
Rapple,Brendan.2004 "Standardised Testing in AmericanSchool:Lessons from Matthew Arnold's Britain:Contemporary Review,285(1665),193-198
In today's school system, school age children are being prepared for standardised testing, instead of an education. With those standards in place, student progress and achievement will be measured according to state tests designed to match those state standards and given to every child, every year (Rapple,2004,p. 195). If school age children must be assessed, then they should be conducted three times a year, beginning, middle and of course the end of the year. During these assessments, the teacher would be able to pinpoint the child's progress and develop a plan to help in areas that need improvement. I believe crowding unfamiliar information into the minds of children can be a bit overwhelming. Most psychologists now agree that the brain is like a muscle, affected by mental exercise which often encourage or discourage by social setting. Brain structures grow or shrink depending on past learning (Berger,2016,p.359). If teachers are able to teach children the basic skills they need for life-long lessons and assess them on these skills, the scores would be a much better turn out.
One of the countries I decided to research was Geat Britain. Just like our American school Britain, have standardized testing as well. But more than three- quarters of teachers believe that pupils' enjoyment of education is being damaged by the Government's methods for measuring and raising achievement - its tests and exams regime( Mansel,2008). It amazes me that the effect that testing has on school age children in various countries. In the article "Smiles better than testing", Warwick Mansel, express the concerns of vigorous preparation for testing have on children. However, many professionals believe that the testing side has dominated, marginalising pupil development. I particular, there is a widespread view that putting children through months of test preparation, with aim of raising their achievement, can be boring for some and make others anxious (Mansel,2008).
Assessing school age children should be an enjoyable moment between the teacher and child. In these moments, one should be able to locate the child's strengths and or weaknesses. From these skills, I believe children should be tested on so that the process can be memorable and a complete success.
References
Mansel,W(2008).Smiles better than testing?TES: Times Educational Supplement,(4780),14-15.
Rapple,Brendan.2004 "Standardised Testing in AmericanSchool:Lessons from Matthew Arnold's Britain:Contemporary Review,285(1665),193-198
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