The prompt for my second essay is: Choose an issue of importance to you, the issue could be personal, school related, local, political, or international in scope - and write an essay which you explain the significance of that issue to yourself, your family, your community, or your generation.
"Children: their present is our future"
I begin this essay quoting Sitting Bull: "Let's put our minds together and see what life we can make for our children". This essay will consider influences that family and environment may cause in children's growth, and will discuss the possible mediating effect of positive parenting and social support, also mentioning the importance of the teacher's role.
I have been teaching children for fourteen years. Overtime I have been able to observe and learn the phases of children's development. By improving my assessment of each factor, and continuing training, I have acquired a better idea of what to expect in regards to a child's behavior based on their family relationships. Parents exercise the greatest influence in a child's development, and the affection and care, or lack of, they provide, will affect their children accordingly. It is possible to determine whether a child is receiving an appropriate education at home by observing their behavior while under care.
I remember when a mother of an infant said to me "I'm jealous of you because you are the one who is really following my daughter's growth... her first smile, her first crawl, her first words, and
her first steps. You are the witness of my daughter's development as a human being." These words made me realize the importance of the attachment between mother and child, and the affinity they share during the baby's first years, and how they are crucial factors for the child's development. These factors positively influence the building of the child's personality, self-stem, autonomy, self-confidence, and their socio-emotional relationships, among others things.
Many children, on the other hand, are exposed to difficult family issues such as poverty, drug use, domestic violence, abuse, and neglect, just to name a few. I have been exposed to some of these issues working at SafePlace of Austin, a shelter for abuse victims. Their mothers' lives are not in order, some are victims of abuse, and this affects the child's behavior. Melancholy, defensiveness, and frailty are signs of the negative impact this has on the child's behavior. Children are more sensitive than adults and they crave the additional attention and love that their mothers cannot provide due to their present condition. Some of the children have experienced some kind of abuse as well. As a teacher, from my perspective I recognize anxiety, fear of different people, difficulty to adapt to a new environment, aggressiveness, quietness, among other behaviors, as well as some development delays.
Another situation that has a negative effect on the child's behavior is the lack of parenting in regards to adolescent mothers. In my experience, teenager moms who did not receive a sexual education at home are less prepared to grow and educate a child. I know of cases of very young women who have three or more children and live at a shelter due to domestic violence. They have no emotional support to dedicate their lives to their children, or to themselves. Working with children of adolescent parents allows me to realize they lack parenting as a concept. I really feel these children are unfortunate because I believe this family situation will have negative implications on their emotional and social development. One can identify the signs in their temperaments, such as whining, lack of attachment, attention, and love, leaning to aggressiveness, and isolation.
My role as a teacher is to foster an environment in which children experience love, respect, and hope. To be an appropriate role model for the children, I have to know their condition, what they are experiencing in their lives, and the way they live. A good education is based on effort, devotion, perseverance, and patience. My role as a teacher is also to enhance the child's feelings of self-confidence, self-esteem, and prepare them to live in society. But I also believe that no one can substitute the parent's role in educating a child. The parent must provide a good moral, emotional, intellectual, and cultural formation, so the child can learn by example, but if they cannot provide such example, the child will be influenced in a manner that will reflect that child's family and environment conditions, whatever they are. I do believe that a teacher can have a strong impact in a child's life, but the teacher has to be prepared to take on the challenges related to the child's education at home. There are conflicts related to rules between home and school and if these cannot have a common sense it will be very difficult to manage the child's education.
The education a child receives at home plays a very crucial role in their life, while school complements this education with an academic formation, corroborating and confirming those values. Therefore, a child's successful development will depend on a marriage of educational roles. Education takes time, it does not occur from one day to the next, it is a process. We are not programmable machines, but people who need development and maturity to become the best in life.
In conclusion, in the early development stages a child experiences many phases and situations that will influence their personality. Children need to feel safe, loved and well cared, feelings mainly provided by parents, family and educators. This appropriate support children experience during their first years builds and invigorates their condition to become a person who is able to learn with emotional balance, and to be an autonomous, supportive, and participative member of society, collaborating for its improvement.
