When I Think of Child Development.....

When I think of child development, here are few quotes that come to mind:

Family is the first school for young children and parents are powerful models.

                                       ~Alice Sterling Honig, Author
                   Helping Children Become More Caring and Cooperative"

 Early education can only promise to help make the third and fourth and fifth years of life good ones. It can not insure without fail that any tomorrow will be successful. Nothing "fixes" a child for life, no matter what happens next. But exciting, pleasing early experiences are seldom sloughed off. They go with the child, on into first grade, on into the child's long life ahead.

                                                                         ~James L. Hymes, Author
                                                                       "Teaching the Child Under Six" 

Testing Intelligence

The development of a child is an amazing treat to watch as a teacher and parent because it occurs in different stages and times for different children. The assessment or testing process of a child in school is only viewed from a cognitive standpoint rather than a holistic viewpoint. It is important to view the child's development holistically, meaning the development of all areas-cognitive, physical, language, and emotional/social development. I believe that the assessment process overall is not applicable for all children because all children do not reach milestones at the same time. I believe language development and cognitive development should be assessed because children need these skills in order to communicate and function in daily life. These skills can be fostered through exposure to reading and constant conversations with family or other adults.

The German educational system is an absolute amazing educational system which begins with preschool which is mandatory from 4 years to 6 years old. According to Wikipedia (2010), German student's IQ are higher based on the number of years that child attends school with girls scoring higher than boys. In Germany, children are required to attend school from 6  to 18 years old mandatory and can decide whether they want to attend universities (which requires another 9 years) or enter a vocational school to develop a trade or skills. To assess what the students learn, students study the same subjects increasing the difficulty as each year or grade progresses. Student attend school year round with only 6 weeks of summer vacation (Wikipedia, 2010) with testing at interval periods of time based on 4th grade reading/math skills and the amount of books that are present in the child's home.

I believe that it is difficult to assess young children but preschool teachers and parents should foster the development of the child through exploration, exposure and encouragement to ensure that the child is developing in all areas.


Resources

Wikipedia (2010). Education in Germany. Retrieved on December 10, 2010 from
http://www.ask.com/wiki/Education_in_Germany#Determinants_of_academic_attainment_in_Germany