Changing the World, Child by Child



This is Vanessa, the author of our first entry on our last
chapter. She's with her nephew, who will turn 2 this
month. Vanessa said she selected this photo because "I
adore this little person...and if anything happened to his
parents, I would take the responsibility of making sure this
child has everything he needs, and would give him
unconditional love...As a loving aunt, I would be willing
to do anything and everything to provide for my
nephew."



            When I started reading chapter 15, I immediately reflected back on my childhood. When I was in elementary school, I loved art time. I used to love to draw and paint pictures of my family, friends, and pets. Drawing my house with the sun shining in the back was my favorite type of picture to draw.

           

            Gordon wrote about how children’s artwork will express their character. I agree with this idea. I had a happy childhood. I would use art time to express the world around me; it consisted of my home and loved ones. The artwork of the children I have worked with in the past also expresses who they are and what they like. When I worked with kids at a preschool I loved how creative the kids were during art time. I am one that believes when it comes to art, children should not have limits or guidelines. What for? I feel that it expands their creativity. Whether it may be artwork with one color or multiple colors, the children express themselves in some way. That one color may be the child’s favorite color or that color may remind them of something they love. Or if a child uses multiple colors, he or she might just like all kinds of colors. When it comes to children and their creativity, I believe the possibilities are endless because you never know what they might want to do next.

            Gordon indicated that when parents are incapable of providing their child with the love and support a child needs, it is the society’s duty to take over this position. I agree with the author. If parents should fail with their child, all hope is not lost. I agree with the idea that others can step in and take the role of the loving parent or guardian. If others are not willing to step up and provide for the child’s needs then they too aren’t helpful, just as the parents aren’t. I actually know someone whose mother was there for her. However, her grandmother took over her care when she was a little girl. Though she still loves her mother, I found out she developed a deeper love for her grandmother. In her case it is not that her mother left her or failed to provide for her, because she did, but it was her grandmother who was physically and emotionally there supporting her on a daily basis. Even then it does not have to be a relative that may take over the needs of a child. I think that anyone should be able to help a child in need if in fact they care for the wellbeing of the child.

            While reading this chapter I thought about what I have learned this semester, especially about Vygotsky’s theory.  Gordon mentions, “social and emotional learning is correlated with cognitive learning” (p.221).  When reading this I reflected on Vygotsky’s belief that learning leads to development, especially in a social and cultural environment. Gordon also indicates that how we live should be based on our current knowledge.  This reminds me of Vygotsky’s belief that knowledge is constructed during childhood. The author even touched on universal languages and emotions. This is actually something I recently learned about in another class I am taking. I agreed with Gordon’s information about universal languages. I myself find it hard to express my emotions in that sense. I found Gordon’s paragraph on universal languages to be illuminating.

Though it was a short chapter, what the author wrote about was informative. I reflected back to my childhood, to my friend’s situation, and to what I am learning in this class and my other class, and all of that was more than I expected to reflect on. I ended up writing more than I expected. This was a great book and I would recommend it to anyone because it makes you ponder things you wouldn’t think of on a daily basis.