Observation as a critical tool
Observation is a critical tool in assessing the learning style of a child as well as identifying their weaknesses and strengths hence the regular analysis of observation will help adjust the setting to improve the behavior and learning of children (Fredrickson and Cline2015). Also, it can help to connect with children in a significant way and establish a stronger relationship in the classroom. In the United Kingdom, year one is the 1st year after Reception. It is the 1st year where the introduction of the 1st sections of the national curriculum is done under compulsory education with students aged five to seven years. I observed the students’ play in year one and saw that there was regular interaction with one another at school but the critical stage at this age was play. It provided students with an opportunity to venture into their interpersonal skills by initiating activities. According to the stages of psychosocial development theory by Erik Erikson, it is called Initiative versus guilt. Here, children start planning activities, making up games, and initiating tasks with others. When presented with an opportunity, they feel secure in their capacities to lead the rest, make decisions, and feel secure as well. However, if the behaviour is squelched through control or criticism, they develop a sense of guilt. The students shall usually overstep the mark in their forcefulness and the consequence is that the teachers shall tend to punish them and restrict their initiatives too much.
Development of Purpose
Students shall begin asking several questions as to their thirst for knowledge increases. If the teacher considers the student’s question as trivial, embarrassing, a nuisance or other behavioural aspects such as threatening then the student may feel guilty for “being a nuisance.” Moreover, I observed that too much guilt slows the interaction of the students and may hinder their creativity. There are some guilts that are somewhat necessarily and the students could not know how to practice self-control. Though a healthy balance between guilt and initiative is critical and the success in this particular stage shall contribute to the virtue of purpose whereas failure leads to a sense of guilt. Erikson emphasised that personality grows in a predetermined order throughout the psychosocial developmental stages. At this stage, children experience a psychosocial crisis that could have negative or positive outcomes for personal development. However, the successful completion of every stage leads to the acquisition of critical virtues and a healthy personality. I also observed that students between ages five to twelve learn how to read and write, and to do sums and other things on their own. On the other hand, teachers start taking an essential role in the life of a student as they teach them specific skills. At this stage, I also observed that students’ peer group gain great significance and become a critical source of their self-esteem. They then feel the need to win approvals through demonstration of particular competencies valued by the school and become proud of their achievements. If they are encouraged and motivated for their activities, they start working hard to be confident in their capacity to achieve their goals. But if they are discouraged and restricted by teachers, they start feeling inferior as well as doubting their abilities hence they might not realize their potentials. However, if a student cannot develop particular skills such as being an athlete then he may feel that the school is demanding too much from him and may feel inferior.