Essay on Child Development and Learning

Every child goes through various stages from the birth onset. However, the development process for every child is very different among various individuals depending on the circumstances which they are born and laid in. Parents and the society in general, therefore, have an important role to play in the development process of a child; thus nature and genetics have a primal role in how a child will end up. The school as part of the society is obliged to help children in having a good development status. The aim of this paper is to assess a childs development process and learning appropriate observation including documentation of the process involved, in partnership with the family of the child. The knowledge obtained from the assessment is to be used to create a learning environment that is supportive and challenging.

The child identified for this assessment is known as Kevin who is 12 years of age. Kevin is an English language learner who uses non-standard dialects. Kevin is a learning disabled kid with disabilities but is included in the classroom. Previously (two years ago), before being brought to the lower primary section, Kevin was admitted as a pupil in the special unit. However, as time went by the teachers found Kevins knowledge to be more for a special unit student; thus one of the teachers decided to bring Kevin into class two. Kevin was taken to class two but he had a lot to learn because of the fact that he had not had nursery school education. Kevin is a gifted footballer, at his age, he has had to play for several kid football clubs at various competitions. When he was enrolled in class two, many people thought that life would be hard for Kevin that he would either be taken back to the special unit or he might end up deciding to leave school. During his time in class two, he had less of friends because of his mental problem. Psychologists had ranked Kevins condition as a mental condition but rather a special case which exists in one in a thousand population. In the special unit, Kevin used to do carpentry as his specialty area; every student in the special unit always has one specialty area to choose to work daily while in school. Another fact about Kevin is that he is a stammered kid, but he has never let this bar him from engaging in conversation with other students around the school. However, it is unfortunate that some children find Kevins condition being a laughing matter, thus most of the times a number of elderly students trigger Kevins emotions to force him to talk only for the students to laugh back at him.

Picking Kevin for the assessment was aimed at helping the society to accept and equitable allow children and people with disabilities to utilize the resources in the society without discriminating them. Majority of people with disabilities have behavioral problems including psychological issues, and such people least deserve discrimination from others within the community (Bredekamp, 2016). The students in class two looked down upon Kevin, this demoralized him and made him perform poorly when exams came for the first time; other teachers felt that after Kevins astonishing performance from the exams, he did not deserve to have been brought to the primary section from the special unit. Kevin unlike other students in the special unit had fast learning abilities and was always the leading student in the class. Kevin kept on reading and tried getting involved in class activities while in class two and he saw himself becoming a better child despite his disability. The second exams were offered and Kevin recorded a significant improvement which mesmerized many people. Kevins condition became a challenge most of the times when he was picked to read out paragraphs of stories in class. However, Kevin had one teacher who was really fond of him, the teachers name was Mr. Felix. Mr. Felix was the one who recommended Kevins withdrawal from the special unit section to the primary section. Many teachers have undergone learning experiences involving how to deal with a normal student but not Kevins case. It is up to the education department in the country to make sure that all the teachers are taught basically how to deal with both the needy and non-needy students. If it is the case that teachers learn how to treat all students the same, then, cases of children with conditions like Kevins will not have to suffer at the expense of the learning institutions. The society too both young and old in general has to be involved in the education process of the needy people including those with disabilities in the society. That people living with disabilities have equal chances of making it to the top just like any other individual within the community for disability is not inability a disabled person has the same capability to work something out like any normal person would except in cases where the disabled persons condition is at risk (Benn, Akiva, Arel, & Roeser, 2012).

Back at home, Kevins family has been forced to accept Kevins condition and let him have a life just like the other children in the family. Kevin is a third born in a family of five, with two brothers as his elder siblings; and he is followed by a sister and a brother respectively. Kevins parents have acclaimed that dealing with Kevins condition has been a hard thing; first of all for them as parents to understand, and making the rest of the family (Kevins siblings including relatives) to understand too. Many relatives and friends of the family have mocked the family due to Kevins mental condition, but his parents have never given an ear to what the society has had to say about Kevin. Kevins has proved many things despite his condition, he is one of the few kids which one may regard as special. Kevin loves listening to music, he also loves singing and drawing during his leisure time.

It takes a lot of work to make something out of a person living with a disability. The development process for a needy person or a person with a disability is not easy; it is rather regarded as a complex a process due to the stages the individual has to go through in order for things to work out for him/her. For a child, only a person who understands how to develop him/her will make the living condition better for the child. Institutions offering studies related with special needs education are least in number across the country; this makes it hard for learners to acquire the necessary skills and requirements to help in teaching children and people with special needs. Most of the needy students are gifted in one way or another, people from the society have made it a habit of taking advantage of these students with special needs. It is important to maximize the gifts which the needy people have, and make them feel appreciated for whatever course they are asked out to use the gifts. Cases of violation of the rights of the needy children are on the rise and less concern is attached to how important this has to be dealt with (Jones, et al., 2012). Just like a normal child is molded both by his/her family and the society, the same case should apply when it comes to molding a needy child be (Algood, Harris, & Hong, 2013).

Seeing how Kevins family has learned to deal with his condition is a big challenge to other families with needy children and the ones with normal children too. Mr. Felixs endless support for Kevin at school has been a big blow to other teachers and the school society based on the fact that Kevin has now so much improved and is among the leading students in his class. The school football team can also not do without Kevin in the field, which highlights an important aspect of needy childrens gifts and giving back to the society. Kevin is a gem unlike before when he remained aloof whenever he was at school.

The steps involved in the development of a needy child include learning how to emulate them from as young as when they are born. The child has to be taught how to talk and communicate with other people, this has to do with the family. Realization of the disability of a child will have so much influence on how he/she is treated, for instance, a physically challenged child may be crippled making which means that walking which is a development process of a child will have to be checked on as soon as the kids start crawling. The child has to be taught how to go about his/her condition, and when they start asking questions about why they are different from others, it is upon the people around him/her to give the child the right answers that give the kid hope and encouragement about how nature is sometimes. A childs psychological system is very sharp and some things are not easy to take out of them as soon as they are laid in it. Whatever a childs brain is fed, is what the child will have to offer as far as the society is concerned. Socially accepting a child will make him/her feel a part of the society; this will also help the child grow upright mentally (Cook, Klein, & Chen, 2015).

Some conditions are regarded as genetic, thus a child has a high chance of inheriting the conditions from their parents; therefore, in such a case, the parents need to stand up against all odds and try reverting their conditions for the future of their children suppose the conditions can be restored to normal. Reading books and several articles from the internet helped in understanding more about what it entails to deal with the development of a needy child. Inquiring about relevant ideas on child development and learning from specialists through interviews, administration of questionnaires, and observation also made it easier to understand the latter. Therefore, just as a normal child or person is treated and handled, so should a person with a special need or a disability condition (Palmer, et al., 2013). Kevin has had much to show for many including the children, teachers, parents, and the society as a whole.

References

Algood, C. L., Harris, C., & Hong, J. S. (2013). Parenting success and challenges for families of children with disabilities: An ecological systems analysis. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 23(2), 126-136.

Benn, R., Akiva, T., Arel, S., & Roeser, R. W. (2012). Mindfulness training effects for parents and educators of children with special needs. Developmental psychology, 48(5), 1476.

Bredekamp, S. (2016). Effective practices in early childhood education: Building a foundation. Boston: Pearson.

Cook, R. E., Klein, M. D., & Chen, D. (2015). Adapting early childhood curricula for children with special needs. Pearson.

Jones, L., Bellis, M. A., Wood, S., Hughes, K., McCoy, E., Eckley, L., ... & Officer, A. (2012). Prevalence and risk of violence against children with disabilities: a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies. The Lancet, 380(9845), 899-907.

Palmer, S. B., Summers, J. A., Brotherson, M. J., Erwin, E. J., Maude, S. P., Stroup-Rentier, V., ... & Chu, S. Y. (2013). Foundations for self-determination in early childhood: An inclusive model for children with disabilities. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 33(1), 38-47.