Saturday, January 28, 2012

The Impact Of  Parents and Teachers On Children’s Learning



                         Life is full of lessons for adults and children. Children are the most important building block of  a society starting with infants, toddler, adolescents and adults. Children can easily be shaped by adults.  They can absorb information easily because they can imitate the the actions of the adult. Learning at an  early age can help to develop children’s skills, character, intelligence and language and shape the child’s development. It is the parents’ role to discipline and help kids to discover the world around them. Family influence and the external environment undoubtedly play key roles in children’s cognitive growth (Bornsten, Hahn, Bell , Hayens, Slater, Golding  and Wolke, 2006 , p. 156).  In addition, teachers play an important role in developing children’s skills.  Both parents and teachers should support children to improve their ability to learn new skills.
 
                  Curiosity is one of the most characteristic for kids  that assist them in learning. The child has the curiosity to search for different things. The parents' role is to enable that child to touch, move objects, reinstall, answer their questions , infer the relation between things, and to allow them to play with anything safe around them. All of these activities are relevant to  helping children to learn and improve their intelligence and language. I found a very useful article entitled A Parent’s Guide to Children’s Speech” which describes the many ways for parents to deal with their kids. In this article  Elborn & Elizabeth ( p. 5) stated that children start to say their first words by 14 months such as “baba” or “mama”. By  24 months the child says single words, and by the age of three they are able to speak complete sentences. As a result, parents should concentrate on teaching their kids the sounds of letters and some vocabulary. In addition, this article , mentions how parents can deal with a  stuttering child and when they should visit or speak to a speech-language pathologist.  This paves the way for understanding their language and to use many words in describing something. In addition, Tomasello, Carpenter, and Nagell (1999) found that “infants who spent more time in joint attentional engagement with their mothers at twelve months of age comprehended and produced more language at that same early age and in the months immediately following” (p. 110).  Tomasello confirms the ability for young children to gain new words in “a variety of complex social – interactive situations” (p. 113).

                     Furthermore, parents can help their school aged children by choosing the best school for them, asking about the school’s programs, and so forth. This will positively affect their level of learning. Parents should also encourage their children to share with others to prevent them from becoming selfish later.




                    On the other hand, teachers have a sufficient role in sharing with parents this responsibility of educating children. The teachers’ main role is to assist parents in building children’s skills and in providing parents with the results. In addition, there should be a communication between parents and teachers for the sake of the future generations. Teachers can create a good environment for their students by finding interesting activities such as drawing, painting , learning letters and their sounds, and using play dough and puzzles. All of these will help children improve their ability to learn, discover many things on their own, stimulate their brain, and prepare them for the challenging studied in the future. One of the most important ways for children to learn reading and writing is through the use of writing stories and writing about themselves. Using some games has a big effect on their imagination and encourages them to memorize some of The Holy Quran, simple poems, and time tables. It may also be advantageous to do a simple experiment in front of the children and make them guess what might happen and to later discuss the results with them. Langley (2009) asserts that “Every day there should be at least one opportunity for a child to experience scientific fact or discovery within her environment” (p. 33). This will stimulate their ability to think deeply and improve their skills. Teachers can also read a book or story and ask the kids to repeat the short sentence. Teachers can use different kinds of teaching techniques to teach their students as it has been shown by Langley (p. 34)in the following table:
Reading Comprehension
Observation
Look at the cover of this book. Read the title, observe images.
Questions
What do you think this book is about based on the picture and the words of the title?
Hypothesis
This book, with these images and words on the cover, will be about.
Prediction
Make a prediction about the text. Read the book. Confirm prediction or change hypothesis?
Test/Experiment
              
                Many things are shared between parents and teachers. Both parents and teachers have the responsibility to observe the children’s development and to help them build confidence in themselves. They should also help children in changing their bad habit and assist them to overcome any difficulties in learning or thinking. Parents and teachers  work as  guides for children and have a big impact on them.
                In conclusion, parents and the teachers have a significant  influence on  children’s skills, their language, their intelligence, and their ability to speak and read. Furthermore, there should be cooperation between parents and teachers to illuminate future generations.

Reference list:
A parent’s guide to children’s speech, (A collection of full-length articles and handy checklists)
        Retrieved on 25/1/2012 
        from http: //www.caslpa.ca/PDF/a%20parent%20guide%20to%20children's%20speech.pdf
Bornstein, M. H., Hahn, C., Bell, C., Haynes,  O. M., Slater, A. , Golding J. Wolke D & the
           ALSPAC Study Team. (2005). Stability in cognition across early  childhood. Psychological
          science. 17,2.

Langley, T. (2009). Creating a Curriculum That Fosters Scientific Thouglit. New York, Montessori
          Life, 3

Tomasello, M. (1999). The cultural origins of human cognition.  Harvard   University  Press ,
          Cambridge,  Massachusetts, London, England.






Saturday, January 21, 2012

Differences between Human beings and Non-human




Nourah Binmana
Dr. Donovan Plumb
Lifelong Learning Process
GSLL 6206 01
21/1/2012






               Human beings have a big capacity for learning that distinguishes them from the non-human creatures. Humans are a more advanced, vicegerent species who are able to gain full respect from others. Also, Angels knelt to humans at the beginning of their creation. Humans have different feelings, goals, ideas, and emotions which make them superior to non-human creatures. For example, they enjoy hearing appreciation, accomplishing numerous achievements, looking for success, and have the will to pass on their history to the next generations. On the other hand, all of the other creatures live their lives without a plan and they do not care for their lives. Human beings and chimpanzees may have a physical similarity but there are many differences between them. Some of these differences are: higher level thinking, a greater capacity for learning, the ability to control themselves and the direction of their lives, self-awareness, innovation, a vivid imagination, the need for success, the use of intelligence and language, and genetics.

              The focus of the analysis here will be the use of language by humans and non-humans. Language is a source of power and it is one of the distinctive features that assists human to be more developed than any other creatures. There are numerous languages and dialects in the world. Language also enables us to have a dialogue with others and to share our points of view. It allows humans to understand and to communicate with each other. Farquhar & Fitzsimons (2011) state that language “is not just a series of message transfers between sender and receiver” (p. 661), but it helps in building relationship with others, understanding their ideas, expressing our feelings; happiness and sadness. Harrub, Thompson & Miller (2003) confirm that language:
“is one of the most distinctive behavioral adaptations on the planet. Languages evolved in only one species, in only one way, without precedent, except in the most general sense. And the differences between languages and all other natural modes of communicating are vast”. (p. 1).

Other creatures are silent and cannot speak a well developed language. They communicate with others by using gestures or a particular tone of voice. For example, the cat meows, the lion roars, the dog barks, etc. These voices for humans do not carry a meaning. Although, these sounds may have interpreted by some people because they are used to hearing the voices of their pets and they have trained them in a particular way. In addition, at any given place and at any given time people need a language because they have a strong desire to discuss various problems or dilemmas in their lives. In addition, other scientists Harrub, et al (2003) point out that “all evolutionists admit that communication via speech is uniquely human-so much so that it often is used as the singular, and most important, dividing line between humans and animals” (p. 1). Furthermore, Farquhar & Fitzsimons (p. 654) demonstrate the importance of using a language for humans to understand each other “Without a common language, there is no way of knowing whether two parties really understand each other or whether they are in fact talking about the same things, even when they use the same words”. Hauser explains that what the animals “have learned is in the 300-to-400 range, which doesn't even compare to the 60,000-word vocabulary of a typical high school graduate”. In addition, he demonstrates that apes know the signs pertaining to “food and actions” and that these signs help them to survive. However, apes cannot make grammatically correct sentences.

               Secondly, the brain and the resulting intelligence are the unique features that distinguish humans from other creatures. The brain leads humans to do what is right and to avoid what is wrong in their lives. Having a well functioning brain is considered a great blessing because it enables people to learn different skills throughout their lives. The function of the brain is different for humans and animals since humans use their imaginations and have the ability to speculate. At the Max Planck Institute, research was done with Esther Herrman on a two and a half year old girl named Greta and a monkey named Frodo from the garden of Leipzig for animals. In this experiment, a piece of banana put in a glass and the researcher asked the test subjects to take the banana out of the tube. The researcher performed this task in front of the test subjects and asked them to do the same task later. The result of this research showed that the Greta, the little girl, was able to take the banana out of the tube. Greta understood the researcher’s movement and imitated her successfully. On the other hand, the monkey Frodo did not understand the required task. Frodo took the tube and started waving it in different directions.
These are some photos for Greta and Frodo




Figure: 1



Figure:2
In this study, a scientist confirmed that human intelligence is distinct from animal intelligence in the area of social communication. In addition, it is mentioned that the size of the human brain is three times bigger than that of the monkey.







              In conclusion, human beings and non-human have some similarities and also many differences. These differences make humans more advanced than other creatures. In my opinion, the ability to use one’s intelligence as applied to language is the most important feature that distinguishes humans from non-humans. There are many scientists and researchers that confirm that the differences between humans and animals really set human beings apart from the non-humans.

..................................................................................................
Reference list:
Dartman, K. & Abu Meilq, Y. (2010). The intelligence for the monkey and the
         intelligence of the human. Science and technology.
         http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,5691260,00.html


Farquhar, S. & Fitzsimons, P. (2011). Lost in translation: The power
         of language. Educational Philosophy and Theory, 43,. 6.
         doi: 10.1111/j. 1469-5812.2009.00608. x


Harrub, B. Thompson, B. & Miller, D. (2003). The origin of language
          and communication. 17,3(P.93)


Hauser , (2004). Chimpanzees become human? . Health day news.
         Retrived 20/1/2012from