In the reading for this week, I read about the different theories of development: Psychoanalytic Theories, Cognitive Theories, Behavioral Theories, an overview of the Bioecological Model, and Developmental Theories. The varying theories were listed according to their creation and inception by their founders, ending with Developmental Theories. There is far to much to mention in such a short post, but I would like to focus in on the Psychoanalytic theory of Erik Erikson. Erikson studied a variety of cultures and believed that all people go through eight stages of development, each marked by a life crisis which must be passed so that every individual can pass onto the next stage. Each stage is marked also by a specific strength which allows individuals to pass onto the following stage.
I found that this theory made a lot of sense to me, as it did also to many others. I liked that it covered the entire age of human development, unlike Freud's theory which really ceased to develop past puberty. I think that understanding this theory of development will make me a more competent teacher. For example, in the middle childhood stage, individuals are suffering a crisis regarding success in learning skills. With this in mind, if I decided to teach a 6th grade class, I could have a baseline for examining possible motivations shared by my students. If, however, I was teaching a 10th grade class, I'd know that that crisis my students were likely facing was the search for their own identity. With this in mind, I could provide guidance beyond merely grades and aid my students as they begin to discover their own identities, possibly as they look into colleges or future professions. Whatever their choices, I believe that having an understanding of all the theories covered in the chapter will enable me to make more informed decisions in guiding and teaching my students.
It occured to me as I read your bolgm--I think I'm actively looking for the crisis in every student I encounter. By crisis I don't mean just the obviously bad things, but include the internal crises...like a kid who can never please his parents, or one questioning sexual identitity. I'm looking to try to help, to ease the pain, to make him/her feel okay. That comes from spending my childhood in inward pain...I generally assume that I will find pain in everyone if I take the care to deeply look.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that, of the two psychoanalytic theories, Erikson's theory of development is better, as it expands age groups being analyzed. I am not in the education program, so my interest in these theories are based on my daily interactions with co-workers and managers. Additionally, I have conducted a self-analysis to determine how I have developed or successfully resolved the psychosocial life crises of Erikson's theory. This analysis has led to my conclusion that each crisis does not have to be resolved before moving to next stage. I believe you can be in the midst of more than one stage at a time.
ReplyDeleteAs a side note, I do see how this particular theory could be extremely helpful to those who work closely with children.
I like what you said about minding your students age and the point their at in their lives. Im going to be certified in PE K-12 so i don't know what age i'll end up teaching and I think this concept is very important. Knowing these theories gives a teacher the tools to relate to students at different stages in their lives. I think connecting with students gives you more credibility and respect as a teacher and will help the students listen to you.
ReplyDeleteI think Erickson’s stages could be a good tool to use as an educator as well. Having a general idea about the general inner struggles our students may be going through is indeed useful. To be a successful educator one must be in tune with the child’s whole self, body, mind and spirit.
ReplyDeleteI think Erickson’s stages could be a good tool to use as an educator as well. Having a general idea about the general inner struggles our students may be going through is indeed useful. To be a successful educator one must be in tune with the child’s whole self, body, mind and spirit.
ReplyDeleteI like that you considered that Erikson's theory covered the entire lifespan compared to Freud's theory that didn't cover the whole life. Your thoughts on identifying your possible future students and the crisis that they may be dealing with at the different stages of their lives was very interesting to me. When I first read about the idea of the stages of life being marked by a specific crisis I wasn't really sure if I believed it but I really enjoyed the connections you made. I sounds like you will make a great teacher one day!
ReplyDelete