This week’s collaborate session covered school aged children
ranging from 6- 12 years of age. During the discussion, we weighed the benefits
and disadvantages of homeschooling a child. Everyone seemed to be in agreement
that a homeschool setting doesn’t provide the social environment that children
need to socially develop and build relationships. One of my peers made a
comment of how a child may not learn how to interact with peers of the same age
range and have the tendency to be antisocial. In my opinion, a child that is
homeschooled may have issues collaborating in groups or working with a team
later in life. Homeschooled children do not have the opportunity to work with
other kids their age and will likely show difficulty in accepting and utilizing
information that others have to offer. They may depend more on independent
thinking and lack the insight offered by others. Another classmate mentioned
that the benefits of homeschooling could depend on the urban or suburban area
of the school. A co-worker of mine has decided to homeschool her school aged
daughter because the school system in her area is not academically successful
and does not foster further education.
Ugly Ted |
Another part of the discussion was on the three common
values among children (ages 6-11). I think that these values encourage children
to bully others or accept bullying behaviors from others. Its interesting to
think how a child won’t express to an adult figure that they are being bullied
to avoid being called a tattletale. In some cases, children who speak up about
their mistreatment from a peer or peers face harsher bullying than before they
told an adult. I like the idea of using an “Ugly Ted” teddy bear to teach children about
tolerance, acceptance, and the differences among them. I think a child becomes
more aware of how their behavior affects others when they are asked to put themselves
in another’s shoes. I think this is a useful technique when working with adults
as well.
Children aim to be similar to their peers but it is obvious
that there are some apparent differences that might separate a child from their
peers. This made me reflect on my adolescents and the friends I made at school.
It is true that children, at such a young age, begin to identify themselves
with peers of similar backgrounds. They also begin to call the friends that
they share the most interests with as their best friend. I remember making
clubs with girls in my class where we shared a common in boys, the Spice Girls,
and glittery pens.