When I Think of Child Development

"It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge." - Albert Einstein

 "It is not what is poured into a student that counts but what is planted." -Linda Conway

"A hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much money I had in the bank...but the world may be a better place because I made a difference in the life of a child." - Forest Witcraft

Reference:
21 Inspirational Teacher Quotes – SimpleK12_. (2012, February 10).SimpleK12_. Retrieved December 18, 2013, from http://blog.simplek12.com/education/21-inspirational-teacher-quotes/

These three quotes really resonate with me. I feel it is my duty as an educator to allow children to really see, explore, and develop a love for school. As a teacher I can help my students find the joy in learning. I want to make a difference in the lives of children. I want my future students to feel safe and have a sense of belonging. With my background in sociology I feel like I can steer any of my students onto the right path; I will give them the right guidance, support, and helping hand needed to reach their success. 

I want to also take this time to thank all of you who have supported me. I want to also give special thanks to Joyce and Karen, thank you both for supporting me on my educational endeavor, both of your comments have been very insightful. Joyce, I want to thank you again for for sharing your childhood stories from China they were really fascinating.  I hope for you the best on your future endeavors. Karen, thank you for sharing your opinions and knowledge with all of us this past 8-weeks. I have really learned a lot of new insight from you. Thank You:)   

Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year to you all.

Best,

Elizabeth

Testing for Intelligence?

A child should be assessed as a whole, not just by their score on a test. I believe in formative assessment, this allows the child to be graded on several aspects. An educator can use formal and informal techniques to assess their students, such as observing, developing portfolios, and providing feedback. I believe everything in a student should be measured; a student may lack in one area, but might be more knowledgeable in another, and we cannot see these results if only one area is examined.

The country I choose to do further research on is The Netherlands. Having lived in the Netherlands for 2 months I wanted to see how children in this country are assessed. Children in primary education in The Netherlands are required to take courses in Dutch, English, Arithmetic and Mathematics, Social and Environmental Studies, Creative Expression (such as art related classes), and Sports and Movement (Primary education. (n.d.). In the Netherlands each school is free to determine how they will assess their students. Despite this fact, all schools are given report cards at least once and that is at the end of the year.  “Some schools express progress by means of marks, while others give a written assessment” (Primary education. (n.d.).

I had a hard time researching information based on assessing students in other countries.  One thing I would like to know is how teachers assess their students, and if they have different methods of assessment such as the formative, summative, and initial assessment like we do in the United States.

Reference

Primary education. (n.d.). Government.nl. Retrieved December 5, 2013, from http://www.government.nl/issues/education/primary-education